Czechs' interest in holidays abroad increased this year thanks to the good economic situation, with people buying more expensive and quality trips, according to a poll of tour operators which showed that they consider the year successful.
This year was affected by the grounding of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, merger of two large tour operators on the Czech market, and the bankruptcy of British tour operator Thomas Cook whose Czech unit Neckermann failed to find an investor and will shut down by the end of 2019.
Late in September, German group Rewe, the owner of Czech tour operator Exim Tours, said it had acquired another Czech tour operator, Fischer Group, from the KKCG investment group of Czech billionaire Karel Komarek.
The deal will not hurt the market, according to the Czech Association of Tour Operators. It can even help the situation next year, eliminating the competition for a dominant share, tour operator Blue Style's Jana Ondrejechova said.
Tour operators' representatives hope that next year will be similar to this one despite information indicating an economic slowdown, which is backed by growing sales of 2020 summer trips. However, they are preparing for stagnation.
