Prague, Czech Republic

Over the last three decades, the Czech Republic has been the attraction hub for most tourists going to Europe. This destination attracts many visitors globally, with a 2018 tally becoming equal to the local population. That is, statistics showed that 10.6 million visitors arrived in the country, thus generating a significant revenue increase. Accordingly, the same year, the state registered a 12% increase in tourist growth (Johnston, 2020). The country is ranked among the top ten countries with the highest tourist records in the European Union.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant drop in the tourism industry, with Prague becoming the most hit destination. The number of tourists towards this destination dropped by 80%. In contrast, the number of guests making accommodation bookings in the second quarter of the year fell by 82.9%, with the overnight guests dropping by 81.7%.

Although there has been a drop generally in the industry, there are positive recovery results since May. The monthly records from May up to august records a positive trend implying that the first impact of the COVID-19 restrictions affected the industry severely. There was an exponential drop in numbers; thus, the companies in the tourism industry incurred losses. The sector started recovering slowly after the industry implemented several strategies to assure visitors’ safety (Johnston, 2020).

The recovery statistics show that April dropped by 98.9%, followed by May with 94% and June 60.8%. All the statistics converge towards a recovery of the economy.  Similarly, international travel restrictions resulted in a decrease in tourists. Many of the guests who still visited the destination are German, which accounted for 49,896, which is around 91.2 % fewer than visitors in the previous years.

Tourism Statistics

Following the sharp rise of COVID-19 cases in the country, the government declared a national lock-down, set to end on November 20th. These events allow the sectors to plan for the future. For instance, Prague tourism plans the measures they set to implement to reopen the economy. Some policies are to be adhered to by the visitors. Tourists should resume the average safety measures of hand-washing, sanitizing, and social distancing. People cannot take alcohol while in public places (Khan, Janjua & Yu, 2020). Gatherings that have more than two people in a room are banned as well. There is also cooperation between the police and the city management to ensure that people in the city adhere to the residents’ safety guidelines.

From a different perspective, the industry should encourage tourism activities by promising services to ensure visitors’ safety. Some of the activities in the destination areas to attain safety would include a higher level of hygiene. People would be required to wear masks and use hand sanitizer as well. Other public areas allow automatic assessment of the tourists’ temperatures to overflow between the health professionals and the visitors (Khan, Janjua & Yu, 2020). The issue of the COVID-19 is so disturbing to many of the countries. However, proper measures would assure the residents of better safety such that even after the easing of the lock-downs and restrictions, the visitors can access the tourism services.

Reference

Johnston, R. (2020). Tourism in the Czech Republic has dropped over 80% due to COVID-19 pandemic, Prague hit hardest. Retrieved from https://news.expats.cz/czechtourism/tourism–in–the–czech–republic–has–dropped–over–80–due–to–covid–19–pandemicprague–hit–hardest/

Khan, S. A. R., Janjua, L. R., & Yu, Z. (2020). Opportunities and Obstacles in the Global

Tourism Industry: A Story of Post-Covid-19. In Tourism. Intech Open.