Revenues from international tourism hit CZK 68.4bn in the Czech Republic in the first half of the year, a 12.7 increase y-o-y, according to the most recent Czech National Bank statistics. This at least partly compensates for the drop recorded in previous years and almost reaches the pre-crisis 2007 levels.
“Tourism revenues in the first half of this year grew markedly faster than tourist arrivals, which reveals a growing share of moneyed clients,” ČTK quotes the CzechTourism agency CEO Rostislav Vondruška. Russians have been the strongest tourist group, but the number of Korean, Japanese and Chinese arrivals has increased significantly as well. US visitors are up only slightly. The biggest spenders are tourists from China, according to the company Global Blue, which provides VAT return services for tourists from non-EU countries.
