Travel and tourism in Czechia - statistics & facts
Czechia is a growing tourist destination in the heart of Europe. This convenient location partially compensates for the country’s lack of sea access and as high mountains as in neighboring countries. Despite this deficiency, Czechia has many beautiful sights to offer, such as its landscape and countless castles. The capital of Prague remains one of the most visited cities in Europe, despite losing most of its international visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other popular locations include the vineyards, caverns, and gorges of South Moravia and the picturesque countryside of South Bohemia with its many lakes. It makes them the most visited regions in Czechia after Prague, although they are mainly domestic tourist destinations. Internationally important is also the Karlovy Vary region, famous for its film festival and spa facilities. The GDP from tourism was 84.3 billion Czech koruna in 2020, a significant decrease compared to the previous year due to the impacts of the aforementioned pandemic on the tourism industry.
In 2020, Czech tourists spent around 4,000 Czech koruna on long domestic trips (four or more nights) on average. However, on long outbound trips, this average spending increased more than 3.5 times. A similar trend can be observed when looking at short trips (up to three nights).
International and domestic tourism
In 2021, almost 2.6 million international visitors arrived at tourist accommodations in Czechia. This meant a drop of over 75 percent compared to the year 2019. Most of these accommodated foreign guests were from Czechia’s neighboring countries, mainly Germany, followed by Slovakia and Poland. In 2022, 42 percent of inbound tourists visited Czechia multiple times a year, which could be explained by the large share of foreign visitors coming from across the borders. Even though domestic tourism has not suffered such a significant fall in numbers, it has not reached pre-pandemic figures either. More than 8.8 million Czechs arrived in domestic accommodation establishments in 2021, which was still 2.3 million fewer guests than in 2019.Travel behavior
In 2022, most tourists traveled to Czechia for vacation. Other significant reasons for traveling there included visiting somebody or going on a business trip. International tourists’ favorite activity was exploring Czech cultural monuments, such as castles, museums, and UNESCO heritage sites. Domestic tourists also liked sightseeing but preferred hiking while vacationing in Czechia. Other popular activities among both inbound and domestic tourists included exploring natural monuments (such as caves, mountains, and national parks), enjoying Czechia’s gastronomy, caring for their physical and mental condition, and bicycle touring.In 2020, Czech tourists spent around 4,000 Czech koruna on long domestic trips (four or more nights) on average. However, on long outbound trips, this average spending increased more than 3.5 times. A similar trend can be observed when looking at short trips (up to three nights).
