Tourism Trends in Prague
– January-September 2015
Facts and Figures:
 Total visitors: 4,922,276
foreign: 4,278,213 (86.9%)
domestic: 644,063 (13.1%)
 Total visitor growth in Prague: 366,574 visitors (8.0%)
foreign growth: 279,039 visitors (7.0%)
visitors from CR growth: 87,535 visitors (15.7%)
 The most visitors came to Prague in July.
 Main countries of origin: Germany, USA, Great Britain
 64.1% of all visitors came from Europe, 15.6% from Asia
 Russia’s share as an independent area fell to 5.2% from last year’s 9.2% due to
a nearly 40% drop in Russian visitors
Since Russian visitors tend to stay for longer times, however, Russia’s share in
the total number of foreign overnight stays came to 8.1%, while Asia’s share
was 13.5% due to the shorter visits.
 The total number of visitors has been growing steadily since June 2014: the
Residents category since November 2014 and the Non-residents also since
June 2014, with the exception of a small downturn in January 2015.
 Greatest growth: Germany, South Korea, Other Asian Countries, USA
 Total overnight stays: 12,011,144
foreign: 10,844,790 (90.3%)
from CR: 1,166,354 (9.7%)
 Total growth in Prague overnight stays: 893,367 (8.0%)
foreign growth: 725,913 (7.2%)
residents growth: 167,454 (16.8%)
 Average length of overnight stays: 2.4 nights
non-residents: 2.5 nights; residents 1.8 nights
 Visitors from Malta end Russia had the longest stays in Prague – on average 4
and 3.9 nights
 Korean and Chinese visitors have the shortest stays, 1.7 (1.8) nights on
average
 Prague currently has 757 collective accommodation establishments registered,
with 40,520 rooms, 87,961 beds and 967 spots for tents and caravans
 Hotels reported room occupancy rates of 47.8% in Q1, 68.4% in Q2 and 73.4% in
Q3;
net bed occupancy rates of 38.6% in Q1, 60.3% in Q2 and 66.9% in Q3;
Five-star hotels report the greatest room and bed occupancy rates.
Visitors
Between January and September 2015 a total of 4,922,276 visitors stayed at collective
accommodation establishments in Prague; 644,063 of these were residents (13.1%)
and 4,278,213 were non-residents (i.e. 86.9%).
This represents a growth in visitor numbers by 366,574 (8.0%).
Resident visitor numbers increased by 87,535 (i.e. by 15.7%) and non-resident visitor
numbers increased by 279,039 (7.0%).
Looking at each of the quarters separately, as in past years, most visitors travelled to the
city in peak tourism season (the third quarter), while the fewest trips were in the first
quarter. The third quarter also registered the highest gains in visitor numbers.
Prague hosted the most visitors in July and the fewest in January.
Overnight trips to Prague experienced the greatest growth in July (+102.028 visitors).
Number of guests in collective accommodation establishments in Prague
– January-September 2015:
Quarter
Number of guests
Growth
Growth (%)
Q1
1,111,389
68,469
6.6
Q2
1,795,105
132,670
8.0
Q3
2,015,782
165,435
8.9
Total
4,922,276
366,574
8.0
Overnight Stays
The total number of overnight stays at collective accommodation facilities in Prague came
to 12,011,144 nights during January-September 2015.
This represents an increase in the number of overnight stays by 893,367 nights (+8.0%)
year-on-year.
In line with the numbers of visitors to Prague, the vast majority of all overnight stays fell
under the category of non-residents. Foreigners spent 10,844,790 nights in Prague, i.e.
90.3% of all overnight stays; residents spent 1,166,354 nights (9.7%).
Number of nights in collective accommodation establishments in Prague
– January-September 2015:
Quarter
Number of nights
Growth
Growth (%)
Q1
2,637,848
71,885
2.8
Q2
4,346,666
335,928
8.4
Q3
5,026,630
485,554
10.7
12,011,144
893,367
Total
8.0
Average length of overnight stays
Total: 2.4 nights
Foreign: 2.5 nights
Residents: 1.8 nights
1. Domestic visitors to Prague
Residents visiting Prague increased by 87,535 (+15.7%) during January-September 2015.
The turnaround in visitors from other parts of the Czech Republic began in November 2014.
Number of residents in collective accommodation establishments in Prague
- January-September 2015:
Q1
Number of
residents
192,057
Q2
Quarter
Growth
Growth (%)
18,714
10.8
231,679
38,394
19.9
Q3
220,327
30,427
16.0
Total
644,063
87,535
15.7
Residents spent a total of 1,166,354 overnight stays in collective accommodation
establishments in Prague during January-September 2015, which represents growth of
167,454 nights (+16.8%) year-on-year.
Number of overnight stays by residents in collective accommodation establishments
– January-September 2015:
Q1
Number of
overnight stays
329,496
Q2
Q3
Quarter
Total
Growth
Growth (%)
30,230
10.1
410,117
67,074
19.6
426,741
70,150
19.7
1,166,354
167,454
16.8
2. Foreign visitors to Prague
A total of 4,278,213 visitors stayed in Prague accommodation facilities during JanuarySeptember 2015 foreign – 279,039 (7.0%) more year-on-year.
Foreign visitors formed the main component of total visitors to Prague at 86.9%.
A glance at the statistics for each quarter clearly shows the popularity of the high tourist
season - the summer months - with July as the front runner by far, and the relative slowdown
in the winter months.
Foreign visitor numbers have been growing steadily since June 2014, with the exception of a
small downturn in January 2015. July 2015 experienced an extreme growth in non-resident
visitors amounting to 89,500 visitors.
Number of non-residents in collective accommodation establishments in Prague
- January-September 2015:
Q1
Number of
non-residents
919,332
Q2
Quarter
Growth
Growth (%)
49,755
5.7
1,563,426
94,276
6.4
Q3
1,795,455
135,008
8.1
Total
4,278,213
279,039
7.0
Source Countries
The main country of origin for visitors to Prague remains Germany, as in previous years,
with nearly 260,000 more visitors than the USA in second place. The United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland follows in third place.
The most striking change year-on-year is Russia’s decline from second to fifth place and the
corresponding rise in China’s position.
Top 10 markets with the highest total visits – January-September 2015:
Place
Country
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Germany
USA
United Kingdom
Italy
Russia
Other Asian countries*
Slovakia
France
China
Number of
guests
604,221
345,396
275,683
226,269
223,801
173,943
170,117
154,928
154,405
151,554
Growth/Decline
+73,464
+44,706
+30,607
-8,434
-143,006
+51,344
+16,484
-10,076
+39,096
+5,039
Growth/Decline
(%)
+13.8
+14.9
+12.5
-3.6
-39.0
+41.9
+10.7
-6.1
+33.9
+3.4
Poland
*Note: “Other Asian countries” do not include China, India, Israel, Japan or South Korea, which are tracked
separately by the Czech Statistical Office. The Czech Statistical Office started tracking these Asian countries in
2015: Taiwan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which were split off from the Other Asian Countries
category. However, since the increases and decreases in visitor numbers and overnight stays year-on-year
cannot be reported for the newly tracked countries due to lack of information for last year, the increase in 2015 is
reported along with the entire Other Asian Countries group.
The statistics for the individual regions can be summarized as follows: 64.1% of all visitors
came from Europe, 15.6% from Asia and 9.4% from North America.
After separating Russia out as its own region, European visitor numbers increased by nearly
200,000 year-on-year, Asian visitors by nearly 170,000, North American by almost 50,000,
and visitors from Russia fell by over 140,000 year-on-year.
Absolute growth in foreign visitors to Prague
Non-resident visitors in the same period increased by 279,039 (7%).
More than 70,000 of that growth came from Germany.
Fastest growing markets by volume compared to January-September 2014:
Country
1. Germany
2. Other Asian countries*
3. South Korea
4. USA
5. China
6. United Kingdom
7. Turkey
8. Israel
9. Slovakia
10. India
Growth
73,464
51,344
46,047
44,706
39,096
30,607
23,335
19,701
16,484
13,593
Growth (%)
+13.8
+41.9
+48.7
+14.9
+33.9
+12.5
+49.8
+27.6
+10.7
+53.2
Falling visitor numbers are especially clear with regard to Russia, with smaller but repeated
drops in visitors from Ukraine, France and Italy. Other than Ukraine, however, all these
countries are in the TOP 10 for tourism in Prague.
The greatest losses in inbound guests compared to January-September 2014 are from
the following countries:
Country
1. Russia
2. Ukraine
3. France
4. Italy
5. Brazil
6. Japan
Decline
-143,006
-11,419
-10,076
-8,434
-3,440
-2,763
Decline (%)
-39.0
-19.9
-6.1
-3.6
-7.1
-3.8
Out of a total of 52 countries and territories being tracked, 45 recorded increased numbers
and 7 recorded decreased numbers of visits to Prague.
Total number of overnight stays from foreign visitors
In the first nine months of 2015, foreign visitors completed 10,844,790 overnight stays in
collective accommodation establishments in Prague, which constitutes growth of 725,913
overnight stays (7.2%) year-on-year.
Visitors from Germany spent the greatest number of nights in the Czech capital.
Despite the major decline in overnight stays from Russia, it still holds second place in this
area.
Top markets by total nights:
Number of
overnight stays
Country
1
Germany
1,443,059
+216,462
+17.6
2
Russia
876,303
-587,407
-40.1
3
USA
852,283
+126,040
+17.4
4
United Kingdom
708,214
+117,550
+19.9
5
659,664
-13,280
-2.0
406,104
+136,144
+50.4
7
Italy
Other Asian
countries*
France
404,838
-15,430
-3.7
8
Spain
399,549
+28,227
+7.6
9
Slovakia
338,377
+48,705
+16.8
10
Poland
304,089
+14,453
+5.0
6
Growth/Decline
Growth/Decline
(%)
Place
Greatest increases in nights compared to January-September 2014
Place
1
Country
Growth
Growth (%)
216,462
3
Germany
Other Asian
countries*
USA
126,040
17.4
4
United Kingdom
117,550
19.9
5
Israel
85,194
39.0
6
China
77,229
38.5
7
Turkey
76,081
62.6
8
South Korea
68,755
40.5
9
Slovakia
48,705
16.8
10
Sweden
38,454
21.7
2
136,144
17.6
50.4
The greatest losses compared to January-September 2014:
Place
Country
Decline
Decline (%)
1
Russia
-587,407
-40.1
2
France
-15,430
-3.7
3
Italy
-13,280
-2.0
4
Ukraine
-9,578
-7.1
Average length of overnight stays for foreign visitors
Countries with particularly long average length of stays:
Malta
4.0 nights
Russia
3.9 nights
Israel
3.3 nights
Countries with particularly short average length of stays:
South Korea 1.7 nights
China
1.8 nights
Comparing Prague tourism with total tourism in the CR
Just as in Prague, the Czech Republic as a whole also saw a significant increase in total
visitor numbers and overnight stays from both foreign visitors and residents.
Between January and September 2015 a total of 13,652,849 visitors stayed in collective
accommodation establishments throughout the Czech Republic. Of this number, 6,937,324
were residents and 6,716,525 were non-residents.
This indicates a total growth of 11.4%, equivalent to 1,402,107 visitors.
The total number of visitors to Prague holds a share of 36.1% in the total number of
visitors to the Czech Republic and the number of non-resident visitors to Prague holds a
share of 63.7% in the total number of visitors to the entire country.
The highest numbers of visitors came from our immediate neighbors: Germany, Slovakia
and Poland.
The number of overnight stays in collective accommodation establishments throughout the
Czech Republic came to 38,176,934 for January-September 2014, representing an increase
of 10.9%.
Based on data from the Czech Statistical Office published on 9 November 2015
Martina Kuřitková – Prague City Tourism