Visitors to the Czech Republic from Saudi Arabia grew by over 21 per cent in the first half of 2018 as compared to the corresponding period last year.

A joint statement released by the Czech Tourist Authority (CzechTourism) and the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Riyadh, said that the increasing affinity of Saudi travellers to the Czech Republic has been on an upswing during the last three years and cumulatively the country has received over 62,000 visitors from the Kingdom during this period.

Jaromír Janev, chargé d’affaires a. i. of the Czech Embassy in Riyadh, said: “Travellers from Saudi Arabia are one of the longest staying visitors and we look at the increasing number of expatriate and national travellers from the Kingdom, the largest state among the Gulf countries, as an endorsement and testimony to the appeal of the Czech Republic as a preferred European destination not only for Spa treatments and medical tourism but also for leisure time activities.”

According to CzechTourism, who recently concluded an exclusive ‘Discover Central Europe Middle East Road Show’  across several Gulf countries this November, the average length of stay of a Saudi traveller ranged between 6.2 to 7.7 days, which on an average is one of the longest when compared to other global visitors.

The aim of the road shows was to highlight the multifaceted attractions of the country and highlight it as a unique destination of rich historical and contemporary diversity. The roadshows held across the Gulf countries, which consisted of B2B presentations and workshops was a joint promotional initiative of four Central European national tourist organisations of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

Monika Palatková, managing director of Czech Tourist Authority – CzechTourism said: “We believe there is tremendous untapped potential in the Kingdom for us to woo more travellers, including family tourists, to visit the Czech Republic and enjoy the unique and distinctive experiences the country has to offer. The Czech Republic offers visitors a ubiquitous diversity of experiences from natural landscapes and architectural splendour to adventure and more.”

Palatková added: “2017 was a particularly significant growth year with the cumulative annual length of stay of Saudi visitors at 128,561 days, the highest among Gulf travellers to the Czech Republic. Consecutively in the last three years the annual length of stay rankings for travellers from Saudi Arabia has stood at over 100 days.”

Arzan Khambatta, head of Tourism Representations at VFS Global, which represents CzechTourism in GCC markets said: “The Czech Republic is increasingly becoming a global travel hotspot. We are looking at targeting families, millennials and luxury-oriented mature travellers. The travel from Saudi Arabia to the Central European country is set to boom from all indicators.”

He also said that over the last three years, the number of visitors from the Kingdom has been consecutively growing at an average rate of over 17 to 19 per cent and the potential for a further rise was evident from the increasing number of inquiries CzechTourism continues to receive from the Kingdom. – TradeArabia News Service