Abstract:

It has already become a matter of course that tourism is included worldwide among the most important economic sectors, which is also evidenced by the fact that we encounter manifestations of its benefits in macroeconomic relations, in the economy of many business activities associated with tourism, as well as in the creation of new jobs, especially in regions dealing with employment problems. It also significantly supports the revival of historical, cultural, technical, and natural attractiveness. The development of tourism thus represents immense strategic importance for countries that profile themselves programmatically as the "recreational zone of Europe," which also applies to the Czech Republic, which in 2018 was classified within the European Union as one of the countries with above-average growth in the number of nights spent by guests in accommodation facilities. However, in 2020, tourism in the Czech Republic became one of the most affected sectors of the economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aims to present in the introductory part a picture of tourism from a historical and contemporary point of view, in continuity with the specifics of Czech tourism. Subsequently, to present the reflection of the pandemic on the Czech tourism industry to find out, based on the analysis of secondary data, whether we can connect the post-COVID era with the development or stagnation of the Czech tourism industry.