Our second day in Prague was definitely a learning experience. We visited the Augustine hotel and got a tour of the different rooms as well as learning about the background of the property itself. I thought it was very interesting that the hotel originally used to be a monastery and that they have some monks who stay in their own spot within the hotel. It was also cool to see the different rooms and the historical charm some of them had, especially the one room that had the original Frescos on the walls that dated back to around 400 years. We then visited a Czech DMO and were told about how the Czech Republic has been marketed to tourists throughout the years. As someone who is interested in the travel and tourism sector of the hospitality industry, I enjoyed getting to learn about the different types of tourism that the Czech Republic has to offer and what the marketing strategies are. I thought the “unexpected” campaign was creative and something that can attract tourists because it can show them that even if they are on an active holiday in the Czech Republic, they can intertwine that with wellness activities. So, they have the chance to explore new activities or get to enjoy two that they already know they love.
Going onto the topic of destination marketing organizations, or DMOs for short, I have general knowledge of what they are since I did take a destination marketing class at FIU. Something I did learn during the presentation though that I did not know before was that they can have offices in different areas of the world. I’m not sure if every DMO is like this, but I remember hearing that the CzechTourism organization has offices in different countries such as Germany. I thought it would make sense to only have an office in the host country that is being marketed to tourists; then again, now thinking about it, I guess it would make more sense to have them in different areas abroad so the Czech Republic can be marketed to any residents or tourists that are there. It was also interesting to see how CzechTourism has changed what they market each year. For instance, between 2022-2023, their marketing campaign was “unexpected traditions”, which focused on the Czech Republic’s cultural heritage; this year, they are focusing on active holidays and wellness activities in which the two can be done simultaneously; and so on. Overall, I really enjoyed getting to learn about the hospitality industry in Prague.