On our walking tour on 16/12, Petr took us around Prague and showed us some of the highlights of the city. Amongst them were the Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square, and the clock. I think showing these sights first was a great idea, as it gave everyone an idea of what to expect in the city.
Prague is very different from Miami or Philadelphia, and this tour showed that clearly. Effective tourism shapes the visitor experience by showing them the most popular sights along with some of the more hidden ones, like the Freud statue. Without a tour guide, we’d all be lost and unable to get through the city, which is the case in every city, I think.
Having a city that knows they’re a tourist city also helps. In my previous blog, I mentioned that Prague is a city that is aware that they have tourists.
The DMO, CzechTourism, also knows that.Compared to other major cities, Prague is low on the tourism scale, but the city is also quite small. It’s walkable, and the public transportation system is very cheap, making it easy for anyone to get a ticket. Even at the Augustine, which is in New Town, has lots of tourism.
But having effective tourism is good tourism. As mentioned before, when visiting a new city, you’re a tourist. Research ahead of time helps, but actually walking to the metro or to a restaurant is very different. I think the walking tour helped a lot, especially since I can now look along the street, recognize shops, and know exactly where I am. As for effective tourism marketing, I think CzechTourism is doing a nice job at marketing Czechia as a whole, not just Prague. Looking at the pamphlet, yes, Prague is the most visited region tourism-wise, however, the other regions have tourists too.
Amongst the most popular in other regions were zoos and museums, which I’ve noticed is a trend in most of the world. Prague Castle was unsurprisingly at the top of the list. Personally, I don’t think I’ve seen a Czechia tourism commercial or ad ever, so all I know about the country is from classes or my own research. I didn’t know much of anything about Prague till I started researching for this trip.
Some may blame the DMO for this, but again, looking at the tourism numbers, Czechia doesn’t get too many yearly. As for now though, I think the marketing that is shown and seen is very effective and makes a huge impact on visitors.
On day 3, we visited Prague Castle, which is the main attraction in Czech Republic. The castle itself is actually quite small, or at least the open-to-public section. The real showstoppers were the cathedrals, which were in 2 very difficult architecture styles due ti the years they were constructed in. The way the castle is run works very well with the amount of tourists, which goes back to having effective tourism.
After the castle , we visited a Christmas market and were able to wander for an hour or so. In that time, I visited the church across the way, Bazilika sv. Ludmily. Seeing all the different cathedrals and basilicas this trip has been amazing. Tomorrow, I plan to go the the national museum, which will help me write my final paper, and I also hope to visit Vyšehrad on Sunday to learn more about the history of the country.