“Public spaces must be attractive for cultural activities, meetings, sports and relaxation, even at a time when the city will be facing the reverberations of a pandemic,” announced the City of Brno. At a meeting on Wednesday, Brno City Council proposed a relaxation of the existing decree banning the consumption of alcohol in public places, including popular city hotspots such as Jakubák and Zelňák. Title photo: Brno Region.
Brno, May 7 (BD) – “We expect that there will be more people than usual in Brno during the summer months. It is very likely that there will be only limited possibilities to go on holiday outside the country. We want to provide enough activities for residents and visitors to the city,” said Brno Mayor Markéta Vaňková (ODS).
Brno City Council proposed relaxing regulations banning the consumption of alcohol in public places at its meeting on Wednesday. The ban will be lifted in city parks and green areas, as well as Jakubské, Římské, and Dominikánské náměstí, and Zelný trh.
“Going to the park in the fresh air in the summer with friends and a can of cold beer is perfectly normal and natural in the civilized world. However, Brno’s anti-alcohol decree has been prohibiting this for ten years. I have therefore proposed to exclude parks and forest parks in the City of Brno from the ban; it would only continue to apply in the vicinity of playgrounds and sandpits,” said Deputy Mayor Tomáš Koláčný (Piráti).
The amendments to the decree banning the consumption of alcohol in public places could be approved by Brno City Council on June 16th.
Under the proposal, city districts would be able to designate outdoor open-air areas close to hospitality facilities as extra areas to consume food and drink, including alcoholic beverages. These would follow the same operating rules as pub gardens, but would be more straightforward to open in terms of administration. “In addition, as fees have been waived, it will be economically very beneficial for owners,” said Mayor Vaňková
120 ‘Gastro Chairs for Brno’
In agreement with the Brno-centre district, brand new ‘relaxation and gastro zones’ could be created in the center, on Dominikánské náměstí and Zelný trh. Another new project is ‘Gastro Chairs for Brno’, which will place 120 chairs and 30 tables in public spaces near cafés and restaurants, used for brief stops and relaxation.
The Brno-center district grants approximately 300 permits for restaurant gardens a year. This year, about 200 operators have already applied for permits, well in advance. A further approximately 100 applications were submitted after the opening date for pub gardens was announced. The district office is unable to process this number of applications and issue permits by May 11th, so the district council will therefore allow operators to start installing their gardens from May 1st and open them from May 11th, receiving their permits later. The district council had already approved a waiver of rents to catering services, retailers, and other services affected by the state of emergency and the government’s coronavirus crisis measures.
Together with Brno’s music clubs and the organizers of the city’s cultural events, the City Council is looking for ways to revive the city center during the summer. Help could come in the form of simplified administration, technical security, promotion, or financial support.
The city also wants to focus on expanding the areas available for recreational sports. One project is for part of the Brno Exhibition Grounds to be made accessible to the public, containing three basketball courts, two streetball courts, ten ping-pong and six teqball tables. The City is also considering opening new public barbeque spots.
All the proposals “will help two areas that have been severely affected by government restrictions and which significantly contribute to the modern face of the city: gastronomy and the art scene,” said Vaňková.
CZK 3 Million Planned Support for Tourism In Brno
The Office of Marketing and Tourism of the City of Brno has submitted a proposal to revive domestic tourism in Brno. The proposals include immediate help, but also medium and long-term measures.
“We have decided to waive the city tourist taxes paid by accommodation providers, which go into the budgets of city districts. We will cover the payments from June to December this year,” explained Kristýna Černá, Marketing and Tourism Representative. We are also currently working on a marketing campaign, whose main goal is to stimulate tourism in Brno and South Moravia,” added Černá. For CZK 3 million, the city will implement a television and online campaign, which will build on the popular destination brand #brnotruestory and target primarily domestic travelers.
The city will support tourism with another CZK 500,000 through the Moravia Convention Bureau, which will encourage the holding of conferences and congresses in Brno.
The city will also purchase the first ten stands with disinfection, which will be placed close to tourist destinations with the help of the Brno Transport Company and Brno Tourism Information Centre (TIC Brno).
The city will also support the Brnopas tourist card, which is offered to visitors by TIC Brno. “By providing financial support for the tourist card, we will assist its expansion across the region. Brnopas will thus also be available from accommodation providers, who will offer it at a discount. Our goal is to extend the stay of visitors in Brno and the region,” said Černá.
“According to the analysis, the South Moravian Region is the third most affected region in the Czech Republic by the pandemic. Almost 6,000 jobs are at risk and tourism is expected to fall by 7%. The proposed measures thus complement the previously approved economic packages in the field of culture and the private business sector,” said Vaňková.
