From January, Prague Will Increase the Tourist Tax

The Prague authorities will increase the tourist fee for accommodation from the current 21 to 50 CZK per day.

The main reason is the effort to increase the city’s income, which is lower than the expenses associated with tourism. The city therefore approved a memorandum with Prague City Tourism (PCT) and the Association of Hotels and Restaurants of the Czech Republic.

The tourism fee for Prague has long been lower than in other European cities: the current CZK 21 is equivalent to around €0.81, compared to €1.1 in Barcelona, €2.11 in Vienna, and €3.2 in Budapest.

The image of Prague as a suitable destination for congresses, conferences, exhibitions, and fairs will also be significantly supported.

“The fee is the only tool by which Czech municipalities can directly compensate for the costs associated with tourism and through which they can contribute to its economic benefits. At the moment, the city of Prague, with its 21 CZK accommodation fee, lags behind both in Europe and even behind a number of Czech cities,” said Deputy Mayor Pavel Vyhnánek (Praha sobě), responsible for finance and budget.

However, not all hoteliers share Vyhnánek’s optimism. Gorjan Lazarov, general manager of the Orea Hotels & Resorts, does not consider the increase in fees – at a time when the hotel industry is going through the biggest crisis in recent years – to be a happy step.

“There is a lot of uncertainty in the industry, so I think it would be much better to think about how to help hotels than to burden the industry with increased fees, “the Prague Patriot told the server.

“Together with the hoteliers, we agree that the increase in the sojourn tax will not affect the attractiveness of our capital, on the contrary, it will help us increase it,” said Hana Třeštíková (Praha Sobě), Councilor for Culture and Tourism.

The fee for the stay is paid by the tourists for each night spent in a Prague accommodation facility for a short-term stay not exceeding 60 days.

If the Prague representatives give the green light, the new fee rate will take effect from the beginning of 2022.

In 2019, approximately 344 million CZK went to the capital’s treasury on accommodation fees.