The Kotva department store in central Prague has a new Chinese name: Kao-tche-wa. The name, chosen in cooperation with the Konfucius Institute at the University in Olomouc, will be used for promotional materials targeting Chinese tourists. Jaroslav Petrů, the general director of Kotva, noted that other prominent buildings and monuments around Europe, including London, are getting Chinese promotional names.
Chinese tourists have helped increase retail sales in the Czech Republic. In Q3 2015, their spending surpassed that of Russian shoppers for the first time. Chinese visitors accounted for 33 percent of the total spending by tourists from countries outside the EU in the Czech Republic, while the Russian share dropped from 31 percent to a mere 16 percent, according to Global Blue company, which helps tourists outside the EU collect their VAT reimbursements. The average spending by person increased from CZK 15,930 to 19,400 y-o-y.
