The high tourist season has been a success for accommodation providers
In the third quarter of 2023, the total number of arrivals in collective accommodation facilities increased by 7.9% compared to the previous year, and the number of overnight stays increased by 5.0%. The results regarding total guest stays in this year’s main tourist season have exceeded those of the pre-Covid year 2019.
In the third quarter of 2023, the number of overnight stays by guests in mass accommodation facilities reached a total of 21.4 million stays, which is 5.0% more than in the same period of the previous year. The number of overnight stays by non-residents increased by 18.8%, while that of national guests decreased slightly by 1.0% compared to the previous year.
“During the monitored period, a total of 7.9 million guests arrived in mass accommodation facilities, which is 7.9% more than the previous year. The number of foreign guests hosted during the summer season increased by one-fifth, and the demand for accommodations by domestic tourists has been increasing year after year,” said Pavel Vančura, Director of the Department of Commerce, Transport, Services, Tourism, and Environment, CZSO Statistics.
During the July-September period, hotel occupancy increased by 10.9% compared to the previous year, with a total of 4.7 million guests. Guesthouses saw 6.1% more people staying compared to the previous year. However, campground operators reported a worse season compared to the previous year in terms of domestic tourists. The number of Czech guests hosted, who represent 85% of campground clientele, decreased by 3.4% compared to the previous year, and the number of overnight stays decreased by 7.3%. Campgrounds only saw positive numbers in the month of September, which was warmer than average.
Regionally, the total number of accommodations increased in all regions of the country, primarily thanks to foreign guests. In some regions, domestic guests decreased compared to the previous year, and their number of overnight stays also decreased. The slight decline in the number of domestic visitors affected nearly half of the regions.
“The total guest stays in the summer season have exceeded the pre-Covid 2019 results for the first time. The number of arrivals was 4.3% higher, and the number of overnight stays exceeded 2019 by 2.4%. This year, the number of Czechs who stayed increased by almost 15% compared to four years ago, but there are still about a tenth of foreign guests missing,” said Roman Mikula, Head of the Department of Tourism and Environment Statistics, CZSO.
In the third quarter, the majority of foreign guests (by nationality) stayed in Germany. Germans continue to represent more than one-fifth of the foreign clientele in monitored accommodation facilities (690,000 arrivals). Compared to the same period the previous year, their number increased by 19.2%. The second-largest group is visitors from Poland (286,000 arrivals, with a 16.5% increase compared to the previous year), while the third place is occupied by guests from Slovakia (282,000 arrivals, with an 8.4% increase compared to the previous year).
