About 800,000 Czechs went to Croatia this summer. Credit: Freepik.
Prague, Dec 8 (CTK) – Croatia was the most popular summer holiday destination for Czechs once again this year; about 800,000 went to Croatia this summer, followed by Greece with 640,000 and Italy with 470,000, according to statistics from the Foreign Ministry released yesterday.
Portugal, Madeira, the Azores and Albania were also very popular destinations this year, according to the ministry.
The Foreign Ministry described this summer’s tourist season as challenging compared to previous years, due to natural disasters not only in Greece, but also in Croatia where forest fires broke out on the coast and the ministry had to evacuate about 30 Czech tourists from the area.
“The World Scout Jamboree in South Korea was another big challenge. More than 400 Czech Scouts, most of them between 14 and 18 years, were evacuated from Busan county due to a tropical storm and local flooding, with consular assistance from the office in Seoul,” the ministry said.
The call centre for communication with citizens in case of emergency handled nearly 8,000 calls, said Martin Smolko, senior director of the Foreign Ministry’s legal and consular section.
Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky (Pirates) said the consular assistance provided by embassy staff was very strong even compared to other EU member states.
“An example is the evacuation of Czech tourists due to forest fires in Greece, when we sent a crisis intervention team composed of both our staff and members of the Fire and Rescue Service to Rhodes,” he said. The team worked at the airport and in the field on the island.
Between January and October, around 59,000 text messages and 23,000 emails were sent out through the Drozd online travel system. The number of registered users almost doubled to 180,000.
This summer, Czech consular offices were again temporarily established in the main seaside resorts for Czech tourists: Rijeka and Split in Croatia, and Burgas in Bulgaria, and the honorary consulate in Barcelona was reinforced.
“In addition, Czech police officers assisted their counterparts in Bulgaria and Croatia and their quick contact with local police authorities was very valuable for Czech tourists who find themselves in trouble,” the ministry added.
