Tourism made up almost a third of Czech GDP before the pandemic and guests have finally started to return to the country's historic capital. But war in Ukraine and COVID-19 mean things are not back to normal quite yet.
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On a hot Thursday afternoon, passengers flood onto the metro train at Malostranska. The station on Prague's green line has been all but dead for the last couple of years. There's little in the vicinity save for the castle, a popular tourist site.
But the crowds on the platform, equipped with maps, baseball caps and backpacks, suggest tourism may finally be bouncing back this summer in the capital of the Czech Republic.
According to data from the Czech Statistical Office, the country hosted 2.8 million visitors in the first quarter of 2022, a sharp rise compared with the mere 280,000 visitors recorded in all of last year.
That has raised optimism that the vital tourism industry is on its way to recovering from the "deep economic losses" suffered over the past two years, says Klara Mala of Prague City Tourism. "People are ready to travel again. We can see more and more tourists in the streets of Prague."
Slump in numbers
However, there's still a ways to go until a full recovery can be claimed.
The number of tourists traveling to Prague January to March of 2022 were less than half than the same period in 2019, with foreign tourists remaining particularly scarce.
Germany, which has been the largest source of tourists traveling to the Czech capital in recent years, saw just 234,290 people cross the border, compared with 407,558 people in the first three months of 2019. Other neighbors such as Poland and Slovakia, also major sources of Prague-loving tourists, saw similar declines.
Fewer tourists from Asia
Patrick Pechac of Lucy Tours is clearly relieved that Prague is "starting to feel quite full." For the last two years, he's been living off of his savings and the meager earnings the family business was able to scrape together by giving virtual tours.
But he says that the ongoing pandemic continues to weigh on the numbers, with "tourists from China, India and other Asian countries still missing."
Some are expected to return as restrictions fade, but political issues are likely to cap the number of Chinese tourists. A sharp deterioration in diplomatic relations between Beijing and Prague in recent years has wiped out tours and flight connections.
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War a major challenge
The war in Ukraine is another obstacle. More than 130,000 Russians visited in January-March 2019, but they're no longer able to get visas or flights.
"Russian tourists formed a very strong segment of visitors, but they've practically disappeared," confirms Mala.
"American clients tell us friends and family worry that they're traveling to a war zone," he said. "They see the Czech Republic and Ukraine as part of the same 'eastern European' region."
But even those that are ready to brave the "dangers" of Prague — most likely to consist of an inflated restaurant bill or taxi price — are not finding it as easy as it used to be.
On top of surging fuel prices, a pandemic-provoked reduction in the number of flights carrying visitors to Prague's Vaclav Havel International Airport isn't making things easier.
Replacement tourists
But tourism, which drove 2.9% of the Czech Republic's GDP before the pandemic, is too important for the Czech economy to simply let things lie.
Prague City Tourism is working with CzechTourism and the Prague airport to try to attract tourists from other countries.
The Middle East including Israel is highlighted as a potential market, alongside "selected" European countries. Prague airport will particularly target the US as it seeks to revive flight capacity.
The Prague airport's director of aviation, Jaroslav Filip, said that development of direct and long-haul routes will be pursued in the coming years.
Finding a balance
But the city is aware that too many visitors can be problem as well. Close to 8 million guests arrived in Prague in 2019, fueling worries that overtourism was creating a housing crisis, damaging the fabric of the Gothic and renaissance city and blighting the lives of locals with excessive pub crawls.
City authorities are determined to use the COVID-19 crisis as an opportunity to change course.
"The pandemic proved to be a temporary solution to overtourism," Mala said. "It gave us time to prepare a strategy to revive tourism in a more sustainable way by attracting more visitors that seek culture, quality gastronomy and services, and by directing flows outside the congested city center."
Pechac has more straightforward ambitions. "We hope to see tourism back to full speed next year," he says, "as long as the war ends and COVID-19 becomes just another version of the flu."
Europe's most beautiful clocks
Early on Sunday morning, the clocks in Europe move back one hour as we switch from summer to winter time. As time is on our minds, here are some of the most beautiful clocks in Europe.
Image: DW
Big Ben in London
Europe's most famous clock tower stands in London. Known affectionately as Big Ben, the tower is officially called Elizabeth Tower. Big Ben correctly refers to only the largest and heaviest of the five bells. The "Voice of Britain" tune played by the bells usually chimes every hour.
Image: Ben Stansall/AFP
Astronomical Clock in Prague
The Astronomical Clock at Prague's Town Hall dates from 1410 and is a Gothic masterpiece. Legend says that city authorities burned out clockmaker Mikulas of Kadan's eyes so he couldn't make similarly spectacular clocks for other countries, as he was being requested. Whether fact or fiction, it's certainly unique. The 12 apostles delight visitors with their puppet play.
Image: picture-alliance/chromorange/Bilderbox
World Time Clock in Berlin
The World Time Clock on Alexanderplatz is a more recent model. It was designed in East Germany by industrial designer Erich John and was presented to the public in 1969. Since then, it has become a popular meeting place for Berliners and tourists alike. At the top is a simplified model of our solar system, and the cylinder below shows the time in each of Earth's 24 time zones.
Image: Stefan Ziese/imageBROKER/picture alliance
Clock of Flowing Time in Berlin
A less well-known but all the more interesting clock is located in Berlin's Europa-Center shopping mall. The 13-meter (43-foot) high chronometer from 1982 covers three floors. Here you can watch the flow of time. The level of green liquid in the large spheres on the left shows the hours, while the small spheres on the right count the minutes.
Image: picture-alliance/Eibner-Pressefoto
Zytglogge in Bern
When it comes to clocks, Switzerland is a hot destination. The Zytglogge, the clock tower from 1530, is the landmark of the capital, Bern. On the hour, tourists can watch the figures depicting the golden hour.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Sputnik/A. Filippov
Astronomical Clock in Strasbourg
This Renaissance masterpiece in the Strasbourg Cathedral was also built by Swiss clockmakers. The apostles and the four ages, personified as children, juveniles, adults and the elderly, start moving every day at 12:30 p.m. They all pass by a figure representing death.
Image: picture-alliance/Arco Images GmbH/G. Lenz
World's largest cuckoo clock in Triberg
Cuckoo clocks, alongside red Bollenhut bobble hats and cherry and chocolate gateau, are the symbols of the Black Forest in southwestern Germany. So it's no wonder that the world's largest cuckoo clock can be found here in Triberg. The movement alone weighs 6 tons. The cuckoo is impressive — at the full and half hour, the 4.5-meter (14-foot) wooden bird calls from its window on the first floor.
Image: Stadtverwaltung Triberg
Glockenspiel in Munich
Two or three times a day, the glockenspiel figures make their big appearance at Munich City Hall. The life-size figures depict two events from Munich's city history: the wedding of Duke Wilhelm V. in 1568 and the coopers' dance, depicting their defiance after a devastating plague epidemic. While it may be historic, the glockenspiel is operated in a very modern way — with solar energy.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Warmuth
Anchor Clock in Vienna
Designed by the art nouveau painter Franz Matsch, Vienna's best-known clock adorns a small bridge on the Hoher Markt square. In the course of 12 hours, 12 copper figures from Vienna's history cross the bridge. At noon, all the figures hold a musical parade, among them Empress Maria Theresa and composer Joseph Haydn. During Advent, there are Christmas carols at 5 p.m. and 6 p.m.
In Austria, the Clock Tower of Graz, located on the Schlossberg, is visible from afar. Its special feature is that the hour and minute hands are reversed. Originally, there was only one large hand for the hours so that it could be seen from a distance. Later, the small minute hand was added.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Votava
Torre dell'orologio in Venice
The astronomical clock on St. Mark's Square displays not just the time but also the current zodiac sign as well as the phases of the moon and the sun. Until the last restoration in 1998, the "Temperatore," the tower guard, lived in the tower with his family. Since 2006, the clock has been monitored digitally.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Engelhardt
House of Magic in Blois
Although it's not exactly a real clock, the dragon heads in the central French city of Blois still keep time. Every half hour they appear at the windows and move in a terrifying way. Behind the facade is a museum that provides a glimpse into the history of magic since the father of modern magic, Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin, was born in Blois in 1805.