Exploring beyond Prague at Czechia Travel Trade Day
A quiet city in the Czech Republic (Czechia) with uncrowded roads, a slow moving river and historic architecture, is a target destination for Czech tourism authorities this year, reports Travel Press Today’s western editor, Ted Davis, who attended the show.
Hradec Kralove is a small centre in northern Czechia that anchors the region of the same name. The city is about 90 minutes east of the Czech capital of Prague by car, but it seems much further away in terms of tourist volumes.
That is, the famously scenic streets and squares of Prague are now buzzing with groups of guided visitors on foot, even though the peak summer season is still weeks away. Hradec Kralove, on the other hand, is relatively untouched by tourist traffic, despite stretches of compelling architecture, university campuses and cobbled routes.
The Czech Tourism Authority wants visitors to expand their travels beyond Prague to places like Hradec Kralove and its surrounding region, which has attractions like the tranquil rural Bohemian Paradise and the rugged Prachov Rocks.
This goal was emphasized during the recent Czechia Travel Trade Day 2024 conference, a two-day event attended by Baxter Media’s Ted Davis that was held in the city of Hradec Kralove. There, 77 international tourist product buyers from 30 countries met with some 100 suppliers of Czech tourism products and programs, including hotels, attractions and DMOs, at scheduled face-to-face meetings. A small group of foreign media also attended.
“It is necessary to make this happen, otherwise Prague will be in trouble,” said Frantisek Reismuller, the director of the Czech Tourism Authority, referring to the potentially damaging impacts of over-tourism on the city, and the ongoing agenda to spread the tourism bounty beyond Prague.
Sustainability is a pillar of purpose at the tourism authority, and a primary goal is to draw some travellers away from capital city Prague to discover the many other attractions in the nation, said Reismuller.
One of those options is classified as “active holidays,” giving visitors the opportunity to experience tourism resources like bicycle road routes, mountain bike trails, hiking trails, cross country/downhill skiing, rock climbing and therapeutic spas.
The process of discovering these and other attractions kicked off with a series of three-day trips for the foreign buyers and media that focussed on places in the region of Hradec Kralove. These trips were undertaken before the scheduled product meetings at the Czechia Travel Trade Day 2024 conference.
PHOTO Captions
TOP
Leading the proceedings at the recent Czechia Travel Trade Day 2024 were (l. to r.) Martin Soukup, director of the Hradec Kralove Region Tourist Board; Paulina Springerova, mayor of the city of Hradec Kralove; and Frantisek Reismuller, the director of the Czech Tourism Authority.
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The main square of Hradec Kralove is the historic heart of the city.
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The rugged Prachov Rocks in the region of Hradec Kralove, a favourite for climbers.
