Thursday, March 23, 2017
Marketa Chaloupkova, Director Czech Tourism, speaks exclusively to Travel And Tour World at ITB Berlin, 2017. Read the full interview here:-
Travel And Tour World: What are your vision for the next 12 months?
Marketa Chaloupkova: We are focusing Czech Republic as a continental destination. We are not only focusing on Prague, but also the other cities of the country. There are many UNESCO World Heriatge sites, and we would like to focus on that.
Travel And Tour World: Apart from Prague, what are the other attractions of the country?
Marketa Chaloupkova: The foreign tourists mostly go to Prague, because it is the capital and according to me it is the most beautiful country in the world. It would be a pity if people only visited Prague. Czech Republic is a small country and people can travel quite easily throughout the country. Tourists can also visit the second largest country in the Czech Republic, which is Brno. It is one of the fascinating cities in the Czech Republic. It is buzzing with cultural life, bars and restaurants. It is also a University town and the city is abuzz with students and they add to the young vibe of the city.
Travel And Tour World: What are the different markets that is visiting the Czech Republic?
Marketa Chaloupkova: Last year was a record year for Czech Republic. The statistics show some new records for the Czech Republic. 9 million foreign tourists visited the country last year. Most of the tourists were from Germany, so this year we are here at ITB. It is our number one market. 20% of the tourists are German. We also have tourists from the neighbouring countries of Slovakia and Poland. There are also tourists coming in from China, South Korea and USA.
Travel And Tour World: How important is gastronomy tourism for your country?
Marketa Chaloupkova: Gastronomy tourism is one of our main focus for Czech Republic. It is not only Czech beer which is popular. There are a lot of breweries all throughout the country. There are some family breweries, beer spas, beer castles. We also have some delicious wines. The Czech cuisine is an amalgamation of Czech and European cuisine, which makes it all the more interesting.
Tags: czech Republic, ITB Berlin 2017, Prague
