Tourism has gone through turbulent times in recent years. The average number of nights spent by tourists in Prague before the pandemic, however, stands out above other European cities. Prague is clearly a planned holiday destination, not just a stopover city.
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We see massive drops in visitor numbers and overnight stays in all cities in 2020, i.e., at the beginning of the pandemic and the related restrictions.
Chart: Number of visitors per capita
Year: 2012–2020
Area: NUTS 3
*Source: Eurostat, Prague City Tourism, Stadt Wien, Munich Tourist Board, WarsawTour, KSH, DST, Ajuntament de Barcelona, BFS, Amsterdam.org, Istat
At the same time, we observe high numbers of overnight stays in Prague in the years before COVID-19 compared to other cities. Prague, therefore, may not be as much of stopover city as suggested in earlier domestic tourism concepts.
Chart: Number of overnight stays per visitor
Year: 2012–2021
Area: NUTS 3
*Source: Eurostat, Prague City Tourism, Stadt Wien, Munich Tourist Board, WarsawTour, KSH, DST, Ajuntament de Barcelona, BFS, Amsterdam.org, Istat
Prague Airport is, however, only of marginal significance compared to other cities. It primarily serves passengers as a start or an end destination, not as an important transfer hub. This logically reduces its standing within Europe.
Chart: Number of individuals travelling through the city airport, per capita
Year: 2011–2021
Area: NUTS 3
*Source: Prg.aero, Vienna airport, Munich-airport, Warsaw Chopin airport, BUD, Copenhagen airport, Barcelona airport, Flughafen Zuerich, Schiphol, Malpensa Airport
