The usual holiday season buzz in Prague’s center and Old Town is missing this year and the lack of people has convinced many store owners to remain closed. Tourists and visitors to the center began returning to Prague over the summer, but they never returned after the second lockdown ended in November. “It’s clear that the center of Prague has become a ghost town,” the restaurant owner Tomas Sagl told the daily E15. “The situation for business here is catastrophic, the entire economic chain has been destroyed. It’s an economic and strategic decision for every businessman whether to open or not. We’ve chosen the most efficient combination.” Sagl operates the Kotlea and Pauseteria restaurants on Old Town Square. E15 reports that the only shop on Zelezna Street that was open was United Colors of Benetton. On the high-end street Parizska, however, most of the stores are open. E15 spoke with Tamara Kotvalova, who owns three boutiques along the street including the Rolex store. “There are a lot of customers,” she said. “They waited until the moment of opening and then in the last week they came mostly to do their Christmas shopping.” However, while Czech customers have returned to the high-end stores, shop owners complain that the Russians and Chinese clientele are missing.
