The tourist card is a kind of life hack for guests of the Czech Republic
As reported by Radio Prague, such a card will be valid throughout the Czech Republic and will allow travelers to save on both entrance fees to museums and transport. However, holders of such a card will be offered a whole system of discounts, including restaurants, gyms, purchase of tourist equipment, and much more.
Today, the country already has three dozen city and regional cards, which are popular not only with foreign tourists but also with families with children. Own cards have already been introduced, for example, by Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Sumava. The Club of Czech Tourists has distributed over 20 thousand cards. In Harrachov alone, about 50 thousand cards were sold last year. In Olomouc, sales increase by hundreds every year.
'Here is a designation of the possibility of free entry, with these red dots – for example, to the zoo, the Jewish Museum, and so on,' describes the card that works in Prague, seller Pavel. According to his observations, these 'tourist passports' are bought mainly by foreigners. A three-day card costs about 2000 crowns (77 euros). This price includes rides on public transport and discounts on entrance tickets to some museums and attractions, a bus ride from the Main Station to Prague Airport, discounts on sightseeing trips on the Vltava, and much more.
Most of the existing cards will be 'absorbed' by a single national card. It will go on sale next year, and from mid-September, 'field tests' will begin in test mode.
'A single national card will be introduced, into which regional cards will probably merge. Users will be able to choose what they prefer – a plastic card or a mobile application that will generate quick response (QR) codes. They will use them as tickets and to receive discounts – for entry to museums and attractions, for railway tickets, etc.,' explained Czechtourism agency employee Ales Pangrac.
The new tourist card can safely be called 'smart,' because with its help you can not only get into museums, travel on trains and buses – it will become a real guide to the country. Tourists will be able, for example, to find out which dishes are typical for a particular region.
'It marks bike paths, contains information about places in hotels and guesthouses, various forms of leisure. The card is focused on the end consumer – the tourist. When he launches the application, the card, for example, will plot a route from one point to another and tell him what interesting things are happening there,' clarified Ales Pangrac.
Jan Papez from the Association of Travel Bureaus believes that the Czech Republic is still significantly lagging behind other countries in this regard. 'Some of our neighbors have gone far ahead, such as Germany, Austria, Switzerland, as well as other countries where a large number of tourists come,' the specialist believes.
At the first stage, the card will be issued free of charge, and the Czechtourism agency plans to charge for it only next year. The card will primarily reduce the cost of visiting those points on the country's map that still remain in the shadows.
'Paradoxically, in the case of traditional tourist attractions, discounts will be minimal. We will be glad if we manage to push tourists to visit less well-known places, so that such popular cities as Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Kutna Hora are not overcrowded. So that we can attract our guests, for example, to Nebilovy. The farther from Prague, the higher the discount,' explains Ales Pangrac.