The Tourism Development Strategy 2021-30 sets out the framework underpinning tourism development in Czechia. The Strategy is also a tool to support greater co-ordination and integration of tourism issues into other national strategies and policy areas, including co-operation with relevant Czech ministries through thematic working groups and bilateral meetings. Key priorities to deliver on the agenda set out in the Strategy in the context of structural reforms, and changing the perceptions of tourism within government and the wider public include:
Ensuring safe and sustainable tourism.
Using tourism as a tool for regional development.
Effectively directing the distribution of visitors in destinations.
Developing targeting and integration of marketing communication.
Improving the availability and sharing of tourism data and supporting the wholesale digitalisation of the tourism sector.
Ensuring the availability and quality of employees in tourism.
Supporting the improvement of tourism service quality.
It is planned to conduct an interim evaluation of the Strategy in 2025, which will be used to adapt and update the Strategy and its targets as required. A final evaluation is planned after its completion in 2030.
To achieve its objectives, a range of annual plans and actions have been implemented. The first Action Plan for 2022-23 focused on restarting tourism and enabling the provision of tourism services. Priorities included improving tourism management and financing systems; developing innovative offers and experiences; stimulating demand; building understanding through research and monitoring; and focusing on people as a key determinant of a quality tourism experience.
The current Action Plan for 2024-25 is based on the need to support the tourism sector recovery, respond to consequences for tourism linked with Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine as well as the broader economic context, including inflation. It is composed of six measures, 12 activities and 26 sub-activities, with a focus on the development of the tourism organisation system, enhancement of data for decision-making, workforce recovery, creation of new tourism offers and support of marketing activities.
CzechTourism developed the Destination Strategy of Czechia for 2021-25 to recapture tourism demand from Europe and North America, post-pandemic. Some marketing efforts will also be channelled towards Korea, India, Latin America and the United Arab Emirates. To attract visitors from these markets, Czechia is promoting Czech traditions, cultural heritage, gastronomy (beer and wine), Czech spa destinations, mountain sports, as well as cultural and sports events.
To attract long-haul markets, Czechia has also invested in opening new direct routes to connect to the Americas and the Asia Pacific region, including to Korea, China and Chinese Taipei. Implemented by CzechTourism, the initiative involves a co-operation analysis with Prague Airport and marketing campaigns in partnership with the respective airlines.
Czechia is developing a new e-Turista platform to serve as a register of all accommodation facilities in the country. The platform, due to be launched in 2025, aims to help reduce the administrative burden on entrepreneurs, provide better tourist data and enable the collection of local tourist fees. Developed by the Ministry of Regional Development, the Register will be compulsory for all types of accommodation facilities, including shared accommodation platforms such as Airbnb, Booking, Expedia Group and Tripadvisor. Implementation of the project requires legislative changes and the development of the system to provide real-time information on the number and composition of domestic and foreign tourists. The information system will serve as an interface for sending mandatory reports to the Foreign Police and other authorities. The register will also serve as a single digital point of contact, in accordance with the recently approved EU regulation on short-term accommodation rentals.
Czechia is preparing to develop indicators to better measure the impacts of tourism and help promote more sustainable tourism. The indicators take draw from the European Tourism Indicators System, the European Environment Agency indicators, and UN Tourism work on indicators of Sustainable Development for Tourism Destinations. The aim is to help measure the impact of tourists on the natural environment, particularly with the increase of domestic demand for active holidays in rural areas. Data from the indicators will form the basis for policy and programme development to counter the impacts.
