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Russian tourists are in the TOP 3 in the Czech Republic

08:07, 16 марта 2012

According to Rosstat, 327.5 thousand Russian tourists visited Czech Republic in 2011, which is 36.6% more than in the previous year. Czech Statistical Office (CSU) has different numbers – almost 570 thousand people. Tour operators think that the difference in numbers can be explained by the fact that Rosstat counts only tourist visas, and CSU counts all the visas regardless of the type. The tourist flow from Russia is increasing much faster than the overall inbound tourist flow, which went up 8% in 2011 with a total of 6.8 million visitors.

Russians are now being outnumbered by only German tourists, who are traditionally a big part of the inbound flow, due to geographic proximity. The Czech Republic received 1 million 422 thousand tourists from Germany in 2011. Russia is a long way from such numbers, of course. But in some ways our tourists are more active, for instance in 2010 the tourist flow from Russia increased by 43% and from Germany – by only 3%. That ratio prevailed in 2011 as well – 37% against 2.1%. Average German tourists spend three and a half days in the Czech Republic, Russians - two days more.

Russian activity is best seen in the spa and resort market. Tourists from Russia have been holding top positions for some years now In Karlovy Vary, the country’s leading health-resort. The city’s airport served a recording 99 thousand people in 2011, which is 40% more than in 2010. Most of them (91 thousand) being from Russia. Actually the tourist flow from Russia is the only one on the rise in the spa market, with German and Czech tourist flows decreasing. Russian citizens make up to 65% of Karlovy Vary and Marianske Lazne tourists. The average Russian tourist spends about €150-200 every day at these resorts, which is three times more than the market average. The average spendings of Russian tourists in the Czech Republic amount to €65 per day, and that can be compared only to tourists from USA, China and Japan.

Local media explain the increased tourist flow by low prices of tours (especially compared to neighboring countries) and easily obtained visas. “Czech Republic is really not that expensive and it’s in the heart of Europe, so it is easy to combine with trips to other countries, - said Nikolay Salatov, the Executive Director of DVM tour, in an interview to RATA-news. – But the visa is not that easy to obtain. You have to get it at the visa application center, which really affects the price, and sometimes one third of the tour’s price is the visa – that is absurd for a low-cost destination. Also, Czech Republic is nearly the last Schengen country that hasn’t realized that giving Russian tourists multiple entry visas is effective”. According to Mr. Salatov, the only indulgence from the Czech consulate is that visas are given out with a 2-3 day “window” before and after the tour dates, so people can shift the date of their trip a little.

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