Prague is now the fourth richest region in the European Union by GDP per capita, ahead of cities like Brussels, Paris, and Berlin.

“Prague holds the number four spot in the EU regional ranking for 2022, based on GDP per capita,” confirmed Petr Dufek, chief economist at Bank Creditas.

While two Irish regions and Luxembourg currently hold the top positions, Dufek highlighted the stark contrast between Prague’s prosperity and the rest of the Czech Republic, with the capital boasting more than double the national GDP per capita.

“Prague’s success stems in part from hosting the headquarters of many major companies,” explained Dufek.

However, a concerning disparity is emerging within the country. “Over the past nine years, GDP per capita has grown significantly faster in Prague than in other regions, widening the gap,” he noted.

For further perspective, Dufek compared Prague to its neighbor, Berlin. “In terms of purchasing power parity, Berlin’s GDP per capita is only 60% of Prague’s, while Germany as a whole remains 30% wealthier than the Czech Republic.”

Bratislava

“In 2013, Bratislava surpassed Prague,” Dufek revealed. “But the latest data paints a different picture, with Bratislava now trailing at 71% of Prague’s level. Its GDP per capita has witnessed a meager 2% increase over the past nine years, whereas Prague’s skyrocketed by 48% in the same period.”

“This aligns with a wider trend,” stated Dufek. “The Czech Republic is gradually distancing itself from Slovakia economically. While Slovakia enjoyed 92% of the Czech Republic’s GDP per capita in 2012, this figure had plummeted to just 80% by 2022.”

However, Dufek cautions against misinterpreting the GDP as a direct measure of living standards.

“The rise in GDP could reflect growth in corporate profitability rather than necessarily leading to an improved standard of living for residents,” he clarified. Nevertheless, the data unveils significant regional disparities within countries, potentially informing future economic policy directions.

Transport Prague testing holograms in the metro In Prague’s metro on Line A, new light effects have sparked discussions among passengers.

This innovation was not announced beforehand and was first noticed on the Line A.

It looks like that synchronized LED panels have been installed in the tunnel. They switch on when the train travels at a speed of at least 40 km/h.

Daniel Šabik, the official representative of the Transport Company of Prague, confirmed that the system has been adjusted and tested for the last few weeks.

However, he did not specify its intended purpose. He mentioned that the company will soon release a press statement with all the details.

Při jízdě metrem mi spadla brada. Na Bořislavce testují v tunelu hologramy. Budoucnost je tady! #prague #metro pic.twitter.com/fCT7xBJYee

— Pozdní Adam (@pozdni_adam) October 30, 2023

Social media users suggested that this could be a new form of underground advertising. However, there is no confirmation of this speculation.

Users on social media shared their opinions, with one user expressing excitement about the potential holograms, while others believe it’s a well-synchronized LED panel.

Some passengers found the flickering lights annoying, while others found it amusing. A press release is expected soon.

Consumer prices increased by 8.5% year-on-year and by 0.2% month-on-month in August, the Czech Statistical Office (CZSO) reported.

Czechia’s inflation remained the 9^th highest in Europe, and local analysts expect the easing of inflation to continue only at a slower pace, prompting the Czech National Bank to take no action in its dovish interest rates policy at its upcoming September board meeting.

August y-o-y inflation is 0.3 percentage points down on July, when inflation eased to 8.8% from 9.7% in June. CZSO highlighted that the m-o-m development came mainly due to higher prices in the transport section.

“Fuel prices had the most significant influence on the development of consumer prices in August. They have already grown for three consecutive months,” Pavla Sediva of CZSO commented.

Sediva added that “diesel was sold at petrol stations for around CZK37.40 per litre on average,” which is the highest value since January. Petrol Natural 95 price of CZK39.50 per litre is the highest since November of last year.

In m-o-m terms, fuel prices and lubricants from personal transport equipment grew by 7.7%. Food and non-alcoholic beverages decrease in prices by 6.7% also contributed significantly to the m-o-m development, with potatoes down by 13.3%, eggs by 6.6%, and semi-skimmed milk by 3.3%.

Y-o-y price growth was registered in most sections. In the food and non-alcoholic beverages section, meat prices increased by 2.7% (+3.2% in July), yoghurts by 5.7% (+7.4%), cheese and curd by 2.4% (+5.6%), eggs by 16.9% (+28.2%), and vegetables by 24.5% (28.9%).

The most significant influence on the y-o-y growth came from the section housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels. There, prices of actual rentals increased by 7.6%, water supply by 16.3%, sewage collection by 26.9%, electricity by 23.1%, natural gas by 34.5%, solid fuels by 22.4% and heat and hot water by 37.3%.

Head analyst at Cyrrus Consulting, Vit Hradil, told Czech Television (CT) that given the August figures, he does not expect the CNB to lower the 7% interest rates, where these have remained since the appointment of the current governor, Ales Michl, last summer.

“Unless there will be a stark surprise, the first lowering can be expected in November,” Hradil was quoted as saying by CT.

Petr Zahradnik, economist at Ceska sporitelna, Erste’s Czech branch, and a member of the government NERV advisory body, expects an easing of inflation pressure on household consumption and a revival of the stagnating economy only in 2024.

This week the Czech Republic’s government declared a state of emergency following the invasion of Ukraine.

The Foreign Office has said that the state of emergency is a “technical move to allow the release of extra funds and prioritize refugee processing” and will not impact citizens or visitors.

Alongside the rest of Europe, the Czech Republic is working hard to accommodate refugees with an estimated 5,000 arriving daily.

Katarina Hobbs, CzechTourism’s UK and Ireland Director said: “The heart of Europe, the Czech Republic, has recently declared a state of emergency in order to access additional budgets to support incoming refugees from Ukraine. We would like to reassure travelers that tourism is continuing as usual and, as always, we invite everyone to experience our beautiful country”.

CzechTourism partners with Jet2 for the spring campaign

Throughout March and April, Jet2 will be running a marketing campaign promoting city break holidays to Prague and the surrounding regions. The campaign will be focused on passengers who have previously booked city break getaways via Jet2holidays but have yet to visit Prague.

Throughout the year, CzechTourism will be inviting journalists to experience the country’s unique offering, from the opening of spa season in spring and outdoor active adventures in summer to Christmas markets in the winter and much more in between.

Czech Travel Trade Day returns for 2022

After a two-year break, the Czech Republic Travel Trade Day is back, taking place on the 23rd and 24th of May in Karlovy Vary.

The event is a platform for business negotiations between Czech entrepreneurs, regions and other entities active in the field of tourism with international buyers. There will be a large B2B workshop with Czech partners and a pre-workshop FAM trip.

Get a taste of the Czech Republic at the National Geographic Traveller Food Festival

CzechTourism will be exhibiting at the NGT Food Festival on the 16th and 17th of July. The festival will take place at the Business Design Centre in London and visitors will be able to taste delicious, traditional Czech cuisine. Get ready to discover travel inspiration through culinary delights.

Brno to host Traverse 2022 Conference – The largest influencer event in Europe

Preparations are well underway for Brno to host the 9th edition of the Traverse Conference. The Traverse Conference is an educational platform for the online community.

Dozens of seminars and presentations on online marketing and content creation will take place over the conference. Each year, the Traverse Conference attracts hundreds of digital content creators from around the world. Traverse 22, will take place from the 13th – 18th September 2022.

On Saturday, February 22nd in 1998 all people from the Czech republic were watching an early morning gold medal game – the final Czech republic against team Russia.

Czech TV speaker Robert Zaruba was opening the golden gate and screamed on air: ” We are Olympic champions! Rewrite the history – the Czech republic won the Olympic Games.”

The 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano were the first games that the NHL allowed their players to participate in. The result featured the best hockey talent that the world had to offer at the time.

The Czech Republic had a number of those players, including the legendary Jaromír Jágr, Hall of Fame goaltender Dominik Hašek, Martin Ručinský, and defenseman Petr Svoboda, the first Czech to play 1000 games in the NHL.

And while the USA and Canada – who had previously faced off in the 1996 World Cup – were the heavy favorites to win, the Czech team stunned the world by beating both of them and then topping Russia in the gold medal final to become only the 7th country ever to win a gold medal in ice hockey, just five years after the nation had been founded

An incredible performance by goalkeeper Dominik Hašek coupled with Petr Svoboda’s lone goal midway through the third period (in his first appearance with the national team at a senior level) handed the Czechs a historic victory.

The following day, a victorious parade with the team drew hundreds of thousands of people in the streets of Prague to celebrate the victory. In the minds of many older Czechs, the memory of Czechoslovakia’s victory against the Soviet Union at the 1969 World Championship, less than a year after the crushing of the Prague Spring, was not too far away.