The Covid-19 pandemic measures have forced a big decline in rent prices in Prague. This is due to a few factors, namely because of a lack of tourism, and an absence of university students. In pre-lockdown times, thousands of university students were usually expected at the end of summer to come looking for accommodation, but distance-learning has been obliged by governments globally, eradicating the need for students to show up physically. A significant decrease has been documented since August 2020, substantially peaking around that time when it was clear that universities were not going to be open again, and that learning would stay online. Rent prices have been decreasing since then, affecting all parts of Prague. Notably, Prague 1 encountered a huge decrease of 11.5% during August of last year, followed by Prague 7, with a documented decrease of 5.8%. The estimated rent price for 1+KK dropped by 12%, at about 11,000 CZK since December 2020. On the other hand, 3+KK apartment rents plunged to a decrease of 14.6%. What this has come to signify for the market, is a decline in short-term rentals. Mainly correlated with the fact that there aren’t enough tourists to rent out flats for a...
Entering the 2021 EU Year of Railway, the European Commission has approved today an investment of over €160 million (more than 4 billion CZK) from the Cohesion Fund to replace the single line between Sudoměřice u Tábora and Votice with a new 17 km-long double-track railway. This will enable the passage of long-distance, high-speed trains, and more freight and regional trains. Cohesion and Reforms Commissioner Elisa Ferreira said: “This project will modernize rail transport in the Czech Republic making its railway network more competitive and attractive compared to other more polluting and dangerous transport modes.” “This will greatly benefit people and businesses not only in the Czech Republic but also in the rest of Central Europe,” she adds. The project will contribute to the greater capacity and competitiveness of railway transport. This should encourage a shift from road to rail transport, which will bring environmental benefits, in the form of less noise and air pollution, while contributing to socio-economic development in the south and central Bohemia. The new line on Prague-České Budějovice railway corridor will facilitate access to the cities of České Budějovice and Prague and the town of Tábor, making it easier for people to meet the demand for...
The Tricolor Citizens' Movement political party (Trikolóra) aims to introduce regular referendums on withdrawal from the EU every time there is a parliamentary election.
The lowest unemployment rate in November last year was observed in the Czech Republic — at 2.9% and Poland — at 3.3%.
“Participants in some cultural, and social events may need to provide a valid negative COVID-19 test before admission,” said Health Minister Jan Blatný. However, the final decision will be up to the organizer, the government will set the necessary conditions. The proposal is part of the changes within the anti-epidemic system PES. With a negative COVID-19 test, accommodation in hotels could also be possible in a higher degree of risk in the PES system. According to the daily Mladá fronta DNES, the opening of shops, museums, and zoos, are also being considered. “The negotiations will continue next week,” Blatný added. Events in Singapore Singapore is piloting the use of rapid tests as an important part of its strategy for stemming the spread of the coronavirus that will allow for larger gatherings in phase three of its re-opening, he said. Results of antigen rapid tests could be out within 30 minutes and the tests can be conducted at the event venue or off-site at a separate testing facility. For tests done off-site, participants have to produce a certificate showing a negative test result, which is valid for a 24-hour timeframe that includes the duration of the event. Participants of multi-day events will...
E-shop revenues in the Czech Republic rose by 26% year-on-year to a record 196 billion CZK in 2020. The share of online rose to over 16% of the total retail sales. The number of online shops has grown by 3.5% y/y in 2019. Electronics, cosmetics, and clothing represented the largest share of turnover. “We expect that this year the amount of money spent in e-shops will be slightly higher again,” said Shoptet CEO Miroslav Udan, CNA quoted. “The 16% share in total retail is a great success because online stores have managed the hectic period well. They showed how comfortable and high-quality services they offer,” says the Association for Electronic Commerce (APEK) Executive Director Jan Vetyška. “We have seen a sharp increase since March. Nevertheless, the most successful period was again the pre-Christmas period. From October to December, Czechs bought gifts for more than 65 billion CZK online,” adds Vetyška. Electronics accounted for 37% of last year ́s total online amount, followed by cosmetics with 12%. Women spent more on the Internet than male, buying 60% of goods sold. “We are seeing a growing trend in online shopping for clothing. Not only large fashion e-shops but also shops selling sports...
As winter tightens its icy stranglehold on Europe, a considerable number of people are struggling to keep their homes warm. According to a new survey from Eurostat, 298,000 Czechs cannot afford to heat their homes sufficiently. However, the data also show that the Czech Republic is doing well in comparison with other EU countries. Trinity Bank’s chief economist Lukáš Kovanda adds that the so-called energy poverty mainly affects older people. “In 2005, 948,500 people could not properly heat their homes, which corresponds to 9.3%, while in 2019 it was only 2.8 percent,” the economist said to Aktualne.cz. Data from the European statistical agency show that the average population of the 27 Member States that says they are unable to heat their homes sufficiently has been decreasing since 2012, when it reached 10,8%, falling in 2019 to 6,9. Even so, the portrait reveals marked divergences in the various countries. The highest percentage of people who said they could not keep the house adequately heated was registered in Bulgaria, where it reaches 30,1%, followed by Lithuania (26,7%), Cyprus (21%), placing Portugal in the fourth place in the ranking, followed by Greece 17,9%) and Italy (11,1%). On the other hand, the lowest percentages were...
Czech PM Andrej Babiš removed his red “Strong Czechia” hat inspired by U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” cap from his social media accounts on Thursday after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building. Babiš had professed support for Trump and told him on a 2019 White House visit he had “a similar plan to make the Czech Republic great again”. But Babiš, like Trump a businessman-turned-politician, has joined a chorus of European leaders expressing shock after Trump supporters stormed the building housing the U.S. Congress on Wednesday in a stunning bid to overturn his election defeat. Early on Thursday Babiš changed his longtime Twitter profile photo from an image showing him wearing his red cap to one with him wearing a respirator mask with the Czech flag on it, in an allusion to efforts to curb the coronavirus pandemic. The Czech PM said in a statement, sent via a spokesman, that the red cap had been inspired by Trump and had been his ANO party’s symbol going into 2019 European Parliament elections. “After the unprecedented attack on democracy in the United States, which I have unequivocally condemned, I deemed it fit to express my stance also by changing...
Protesters will gather once again in central Prague on Sunday, January 10, to challenge restrictions adopted to combat the Covid-19 spread. “At the demonstration, we will announce the re-opening of the Czech Republic. We will not respect government measures that do not work, but on the contrary have caused a far more deadly pandemic of poverty, unemployment, and collapsing companies,” the co-founder of Chcipl PES David Biksadsky said. The organizers call on the participants to come with face masks and respect the peaceful nature of the demonstration. “We are not talking only about the gastronomic sector, but also hotels, artists, taxi drivers, fitness centers, suppliers, and many other groups of citizens who have suffered from quarantine measures. We want to give the government a clear signal that we are fed up with all of this,” said Janeček, who is a member of the Chcípl PES initiative. The Minister of Industry Karel Havlíček (ANO) invited the organizers to an online meeting, which will take place on January 13 and should also be attended by members of the Association of Hotels and Restaurants and the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises. Hundreds of protesters gathered in Prague last Sunday, January 3rd, with...
The Czech Republic has the most e-shops per capita in the whole of Europe with 45,000 e-shops in operation by the end of 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted both the operation and development of retail real estate markets worldwide, as well as in the CEE-17 countries. The Government restrictions imposed on the operation of shops, service outlets, gastronomy, entertainment, and leisure, have led to the dynamic growth of e-commerce sales and to changes in consumer behavior. These have also contributed to a 20-45% (depending on the country) decline in footfall figures in shopping centres, when we compared data from the middle of 2020. After the Czech Republic as a whole came through the first wave of COVID-19 with flying colours, retailers were looking forward to catching up in the autumn and Christmas seasons. However, as the second wave hit hard in October, the government reinstated the state of emergency and adopted the strategy of minimizing social contact. Therefore, only the most essential stores were permitted to be open for a limited number of days per week and must ensure a certain person per square meter ratio, on top of the now common hygienic measures. Non-essential retail was largely shut...
According to a survey conducted by Broker Consulting, almost every second Czech agrees with the statement that the economic crisis is in full swing and will cause a sharp increase in unemployment. However, about 30 percent of the Czech population does not perceive the situation to be so critical. Last year, 38 percent of respondents did not know whether they expected the economic crisis to come. This year, only five percent remained undecided. “The results show that the topic of the economic crisis associated with the coronavirus pandemic is resonating with Czech society and few have remained immune to it. The facts are that inflation reached 2.7 percent in November and unemployment climbed to 3.8 percent, the highest value since 2016. Thus, the data shows a deteriorating economic situation,” Michal Cibulka, from Broker Consulting’s financial planning methodologies, commented on the results. For 2021, a pessimistic view slightly prevails, with 28 percent of the Czech population expecting their situation to deteriorate more or less. In contrast, 24 percent hope for at least a slight improvement. “The good news is that 40 percent of Czechs do not expect their situation to change any more next year. But the reality will depend on how...
Establishments forced to close due to anti-coronavirus measures should receive compensation from the state of 400 CZK per employee or a cooperating self-employed person per day. The Covid – Gastro program was approved by the government on Monday, said Minister of Industry and Trade Karel Havlíček (Social Democrats). In addition to restaurants, also retailers, hairdressers, and casinos will be eligible for support. Restaurateurs will also be able to ask for state support, for example, for the wife, who works in the business. It will be possible to combine this state support with other support programs (Antivirus + Covid Rent II). The state will provide support to entrepreneurs whose activities were limited or suspended between October 14 and January 10, and its amount will be recalculated according to the number of days when they had to close their facilities due to government restrictions. However, the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) will not compensate for public holidays or those days when the restrictions have been temporarily relaxed. The Ministry has not yet published the date from which it will be possible to request compensation or details regarding the submission of applications. Subsidy program called Covid – Gastro is intended to help the...
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