350,000 Chinese tourists are expected to visit the Czech Republic this year according to the national agency, CzechTourism. 

This is a significant increase on last year’s numbers, that were estimated at 285,000.

The increase is largely thanks to the introduction of a daily flight from Prague to Beijing said the director of Czech Tourism, Margaret Vogel.

However, the vast majority of Chinese tourists to the Czech Republic arrive to the country from mainland Europe. Passenger numbers on the Prague-Beijing route totalled 50,000 last year.

The number of Chinese tourists to the country has more than doubled over a three year period now, reaching 3.4% of foreign visitors to the Czech Republic.

However, their stays are extremely short, the average being only 1.66 days.

Further flights are planned between Prague and the Chinese cities of Chengdu and Shanghai, by Hainan Airlines and China Eastern Airlines respectively.

The increase in Chinese tourists to the country is also having a positive impact on the upper end of the retail market in Prague