Postpone your trip to Czech Republic

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Aug 17th, 2002, 09:04 PM

#21

Rex

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There is much to admire in the Czech Center New York telling people to postpone until mid-September. It shows that they care that travelers have a good trip there. Not necessarily thinking about the economic impact of the lost tourism revenue. Note that they also say: "We thank all Americans for the support they have expressed to us, and hope that they will help bring our cities back by postponing, not cancelling, their trip to our beautiful country. Prague will be happy to welcome you back as early as mid-September. Many parts of the country have not been affected by the floods at all: Northern, Central and Southern Moravia except the Znojmo area, the picturesque region of East Bohemia, and the spa region in the west of the country, including the spa towns of Carlsbad (Karlovy Vary) and Marienbad (Marianske Lazne)." All of my comments have been from the perspective of what is good for Prague and the Czech economy - - not from the perspective of a traveler. The shortest possible disruption in tourists coming to the country, spending their money in hotels, restaurants and the like - - that is what has the best prospect for helping the country recover. And good attitudes of those going there will also be a big help.

Aug 18th, 2002, 01:49 PM

#22

anon

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from http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Europe-Flooding.html Floods May Cost Germany $14 Billion By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Filed at 5:27 p.m. ET BERLIN (AP) -- As Germans fought to keep rivers of putrid water out of their homes and the Hungarian capital of Budapest braced for flooding, European leaders on Sunday promised a common effort to fund rebuilding and cleanup expected to take years and cost about $20 billion.

Aug 19th, 2002, 08:04 AM

#23

rumiko

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Gosh --- what a f**king mess! Flooding leaves a nasty mess and debris gets strewn around. I'd postpone or revise any trip to Prague that's planned for next several weeks. I'd think that things should be better by October. Right now, the www.praguepost.com reports, "Prague Mayor Igor Nemec said the first challenge to the city will be maintaining public health. He urged evacuees not to return to their homes until power and sewage services were fully restored to areas affected by evacuation orders. "The danger is still there, it is not possible to return," Nemec said."

Aug 22nd, 2002, 10:20 AM

#24

Rex

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Okay, it was nine days ago that I anticipated that cancellations of travel to Prague would HURT the city and country, not help it. For the latest news on the economic damage of cancelled travel to CR, see http://www.praguepost.com/P02/2002/20821/news96.php A mixed picture is presented by http://www.czechcenter.com/Travel-News.htm including these statements (hard to give a balanced view, picking and choosing excerpted sentences - - I have shown here what THEY chose to highlight in red on their website). =========== All the major monuments in Prague, Cesky Krumlov, Pilsen and other cities remain standing, including Prague's landmark, the 14th-century Charles Bridge. Therefore, despite damage to facades, basements, and especially underground infrastructure, the Czech cities' inimitable mixture of architectural styles has not been destroyed. To minimize inconvenience, we suggest that American travelers postpone their travel plans to the affected areas, especially Prague, Ceský Krumlov, and Northern Bohemia, until this fall, when the cleanup will have been completed and normal life restored to all of the affected cities. There are absolutely NO health risks associated with travel to the Czech Republic even at this time (August, 2002); drinking water supply has NOT been endangered in any of the cities concerned, and scrupulous precautions are taken during the cleanup to ensure that public health is not at risk.