Czech Tourism Authority - CzechTourism

The Czech Republic is a modern and dynamic destination with a

rich history and unique natural beauty. The CzechTourism

agency, along with its offices abroad,ensures its successful

presentation on the domestic and foreign markets. The Czech

Tourism Authority - CzechTourism is a contributory organization

of the Ministry for Regional Development and was established in

1993. Its significant partner agencies include domestic tourist

regions, cities, municipalities and businesses.

Vision and   objectives Czech Tourism Authority - CzechTourism is engaged in the development of tourism in the Czech Republic through a number of key activities that promote tourism domestically and abroad.

The main vision of the CzechTourism agency is to create a new perception of the Czech Republic, in particular its transformation from a post-communist destination to an attractive location for tourists. One of the tasks of the agency is to convince domestic clients and foreign visitors to discover the beauty of the Czech Republic. In addition to the capital city of Prague, which has an exceptional reputation in the world, it primarily aims to show the potential of undiscovered regional places. Other objectives of CzechTourism include increasing the repetition of visits and the satisfaction of tourists.

The   source markets

The main source markets for the Czech Republic are Germany, United Kingdom, Russia, Italy, USA, Poland, Slovakia, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Austria or Japan. The share of the main markets are about the same, with some exceptions (e.g. Germany, Russia) The number and proportion of arrivals and overnight stays from Russia and the new European markets such as Croatia, Romania, Slovenia and Turkey are gradually increasing. From new markets outside Europe, the highest growth of arrivals and overnight stays is registered mainly from South Korea, China and Brazil.The importance of source markets must also be assessed by the amount of average daily expenditure. The markets with the highest overall average daily expenditure are Russia, USA,

United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, France, Spain, but also Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

Marketing campaignAttractive tourist destinations in the Czech Republic on the domestic and foreign markets are represented in the campaign "Czech Republic: A Country Full of Stories." The engaging stories which visitors can uncover, discover and experience on their own, entice them to visit unique places.

In promoting the Czech Republic, CzechTourism focuses on the following topics:

Journeys of discovery, presenting unique cultural elements such as sacral monuments, urban architecture and customs and traditional gastronomy. They are not just focused on Prague, but also on other cities with a story like Brno and Olomouc.

Countryside trails , promoting mostly casual outdoor activities in nature during the summer and winter.

Pathways to health are founded on world-renowned Czech spas and medical tourism.

MICE - congress and incentive tourism

For the presentation of the Czech Republic as an interesting tourist destination the CzechTourism agency also uses Integrated Operational Programme projects, funded by the European Union. Each of the projects focuses on the promotion of domestic and inbound tourism, representing Czech gastronomy, traditions and customs or film tourism.

Promotion Tools

The CzechTourism agency presents the Czech Republic at several fairs and through the use of leaflets it ensures the promotion of tourism bodies. In addition, the organization publishes a number of clear and graphically attractive brochures and maps, which offer visitors an overview of the interesting tourist destinations from various thematic aspects.An important element of promoting the Czech Republic abroad is a schematic presentation of tourist potential through press and fam trips, namely trips for foreign journalists and tour operators. Another agenda is the support of major domestic events as well as the organization of custom events, such as the International competition of ice and straw wine IceWine du Monde or the film festival TourFilm.

An integral part of the promotion of the Czech Republic at home and abroad is the website of the organization. The portal www.czechtourism.com presents the Czech Republic through various products and attracts potential foreign visitors not through isolated targets, but through the stories of the cities, personalities, architecture and countryside.

Foreign representation The Czech Republic is represented by 21 foreign representative CzechTourism agencies both in European countries, including Germany, UK and Spain and in countries outside Europe, such as China, Brazil or the USA.

The basic objective of the network of foreign CzechTourism representative agencies is to promote the Czech Republic in the

respective markets, build brand awareness of destinations and stimulate the volume of arrivals of foreign visitors. The CzechTourism agency branches offer a wide range of promotional activities. Their basic tools include campaigns (on-line, print and outdoor), press and fam trips, road shows, participation in trade fairs, promotional events, organizing presentations and workshops, collaboration with foreign and Czech entities and establishing and developing contacts with strategic partners.

Czech Convention BureauThe Mission of the Czech Convention Bureau (CzCB) is the promotion of the Czech Republic in the field of congress and incentive tourism on the domestic and foreign market. CzCB closely cooperates with regional offices. It covers the work of regions and thereby contributes to maximizing the use of all convention potential offered by the Czech Republic.

Congress and incentive tourism (also known by the acronym MICE) is one of the economically most beneficial forms of tourism. Statistics of the International Association ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) quantify the average total expenditure of a delegate at a meeting to more than 2 600 USD, which is up to three times the expenditure of tourists. Prague is already traditionally placed in leading positions on the global ranking of congress cities.

The   Tourism Institute of   the   Czech Republic The Tourism Institute is a new department of the CzechTourism agency. Its mission is to provide other organizational units of the agency and the professional and general public with reporting, analysis and information services. It also provides regular information on the current state and expected development of the tourism market in the Czech Republic, provides regular information on the current state and prospects of the international tourism market, through collaboration with the public and private sector it puts the acquired knowledge into practice, thereby contributing to the development and achievement of the long-term competitiveness of the Czech Republic in the field of tourism.

For more information:Michaela KlofcováHead of the Division of Media RelationsČCCR — CzechTourism

klofcova@czechtourism.cz