Prague Tourists Remain Unbothered by Soaring Prices

Prague locals are scaling back on eating out during the tourist season because businesses are still raising prices, so foreigners keep businesses alive.

A group of four Dutch tourists said they prefer to eat in the outskirts of Prague since the city centre is usually overpriced. “Almost everything is cheaper here compared to back home,” they said.

“People don’t go out for lunch anymore,” said the owner of Anezka, a café in the city centre. Locals have traditionally enjoyed eating out, with most restaurants offering daily specials for lunch, but this trend is now reversing. “They don’t go out as often as they used to, but they do for special occasions instead.”

Czech consumers are highly price-sensitive, Radio Prague reports, as the average price of lunches increased by 8,2 percent in 2024, from 146 Czech crowns to 158 crowns. A middle-aged Prague local, Jan, used to go out regularly four years ago, but now he cooks at home instead as it is significantly cheaper.

A Czech university student, Jonas, has seen prices rise significantly since he moved to Prague two years ago. “A glass of beer here was about 59 crowns then and now around 69, in some places, it even costs around 80,” said Jonas in a pub in central Prague.

Prices in Czechia surged following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which sharply curtailed economic growth in Central-Eastern Europe.

The annual inflation rate in the country was the highest in the EU at 8 percent in November 2023, according to Eurostat inflation statistics.
The tourists seem to remain unbothered by the increase.

Restaurants in the capital continue raising prices, according to an owner of another pub in Prague’s centre, who wishes to remain anonymous. Energy costs alone usually account for a third of maintenance fees.

In January, the tax on food grew, increasing costs for businesses, said Ondrej Sortar who works at Sweet and Pepper Days in Vinohrady.

While the number of Czech guests dropped due to soaring prices, tourists are less bothered by it as Czech prices are lower than in Western Europe, according to Sortar.

Authors of the story: Ela Angevine, Ondrej Chlup, Yuliia Hyra, Emília Madzin. Photos: Yuliia Hyra

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