Petr Janeček from FIR commented on the topics of Royal Tourism and Overtourism in Czech TV programmes

Assoc. prof. Petr Janeček, an expert on tourism from the Department of Tourism at the Faculty of International Relations of the Prague University of Economics and Business, recently appeared on two Czech TV broadcasts to talk about various aspects of tourism.

On the morning broadcast of ČT24 (Czech language only), on the day of the coronation of Charles III as King of Great Britain on 6 May, Janeček focused on Royal tourism in Great Britain, specifically on how tourist interest is linked to the British monarchy and the royal family. According to him, the interest of tourists in places associated with the Royal Family is high – according to current research, approximately 60% of tourists visit the UK with the intention of visiting places associated with the monarchy.

“Tourism and tourism-related events, as well as the royal family, essentially form the PR and thus the image of the whole country. For example, in the year that Prince William married Kate Middleton, that event was watched by around 2 million people around the world and the value to the UK brand was estimated at £1 billion, so really this is part and parcel of the current understanding of the economy and marketing as a whole.”

Assoc. prof. Petr Janeček

Petr Janeček also focused on how tourism affects the economy, emphasizing the multiplier effects of tourism and how exactly tourist spending flows into other areas of the economy. In addition to London, the most attractive places for tourists in the UK include Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Edinburgh. In the interview, Petr Janeček also talked about the quality of transport infrastructure in Britain, which, according to him, is one of the best in Europe. He mentioned the strong support for tourism in Britain by the state and the efforts of the British to use all opportunities to promote it.

In the main news program of TV NOVA commercial TV News, doc. Janeček on 2 May and addressed the problem of Overtourism – when the number of tourists in a certain area is excessive and can lead to adverse consequences for local residents and the tourist destinations themselves.

According to Janecek, many cities are trying to address this problem through various tools such as regulation or marketing strategies aimed at moving tourists away from city centres. He also said that destinations should think carefully about the kind of tourist they want to attract in order to deal more effectively with the negative effects of overtourism.