Almost one-third of Czechs can’t afford week-long package vacation, broadcaster reports

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Almost one-third of Czechs can’t afford a week package holiday, either at home or abroad, Czech Radio reported on Wednesday citing the latest Eurostat report. The situation has improved – seven years ago the same was true for every second Czech.

Photo: The Nick Page via Foter.com / CC BY
When it comes to vacations, almost one-in-three Czechs have to rummage deep in their pocket for even just a one-week package vacation, either at home or abroad. In effect, if they go, they are living beyond their means. At the same time, the situation has gotten better. According to an estimate by the Association for Travel Agencies some three million Czechs will, or have, taken such vacations this year.

Pavel Sobíšek, an economist for Unicredit Bank, told Czech Radio that many Czechs were better off, based on personal property owned, from homes to plots of land and cash. Last year, the overall value of property and personal wealth amounted to 12 trillion crowns.

By comparison, the Czech Republic fares better than, for example, Romania or Croatia, where seven days’ vacation is reportedly not affordable for six people out of 10; on the same ladder, the Czechs fare worse than, for example, Italy or Spain. Several years ago, Czech Radio reports, Czechs took holidays lasting on average about 11 days; but the length of stays has grown shorter, the broadcaster says.

Only, not for financial reasons; the head of the Association of Travel Agencies Tereza Picková says the change has more to do with changes in lifestyle. Many no longer want one big vacation over the course of the year, but to break the year down into shorter vacations allowing them to see a broader variety of destinations. More and more Czechs also plan winter holidays the same way they do their summer. According to IPSOS, Czechs spend almost 14,000 crowns per head on their vacations, far lower than the 2,000 euros (or 52,000 crowns) spent on average by their counterparts in western European countries.