We need to know the real contribution of tourists to the economy. Do we know how much the average tourist spends in shopping malls? How much gas they buy? Do we know how much art is purchased, or how many tourist attend the opera? How much of the Ustecky region's economy is boosted by Germans driving into Prague for the weekend?

Since we do not know, we cannot say whether it is smarter to invest CZK 1 million in a hockey tournament or road race, or the same amount in the Czech philharmonic? Or should it be spent developing food festivals, or even Michelin star restaurants? What is the return on investment for any of those activities for the government? What is the expected increase in personal income?

Thank you, Petr Polak of Visa, Robert Grader of the Marriott Hotels, Jan Herget of CzechTourism for an in-depth discussion on how Prague can generate more spend-per-tourist (and higher RevPar rates) than Berlin, Budapest, Warsaw and Vienna, and how Prague can generate more tourism into other regions of the Czech Republic. 

Read full post by Weston Stacey.