The role of tourism in the Czech economy

The serious position of tourism as an increasingly important sector of the economy, not only in the Czech Republic but also worldwide, is indisputable. Although we are talking about a relatively new human activity that has strengthened its position in the academic and business world only in recent decades, the goal of almost all strategic development documents at any level is the need to focus the attention on strengthening and consolidating the role in the economy both in the Czech Republic and throughout the European Union. The introduction of the submitted article is heading to the current position of tourism in the Czech Republic within the European Union. It, as well as the follow-up part of the study, presenting the crucial data confirming the current level of Czech tourism to the greatest extent possible, is based on a comparison of secondary data primarily documented by the Czech Statistical Office in continuity with the specifics of the Czech environment. To complement the characteristics of Czech tourism, there is also a historical excursion revealing its beginnings, despite the pitfalls of the phase leading to the end of “free” business activity with the subsequent development of “socialist” oriented tourism, to the present in continuity of the principal changes in the organization of tourism following the “Velvet Revolution” (1989). © 2020