According to the Czech Tourism Union (ČUCR), tourism and related services will suffer from the cancellation of paid tests for covid. The government will reach the state of closures without closing operations and thus the need for compensation. The Association of Swimming Pools and Saunas of the Czech Republic estimates that without the possibility of undergoing a preventive test for coronavirus at the expense of the health insurance company, interest in services will decrease by 40 to 60 percent.
After Monday’s government meeting, the Minister of Health Adam Vojtěch (for YES) stated that from September 1, preventive tests for coronavirus would no longer have to be covered by public health insurance. According to him, the Government Council for Health Risks also agreed on this. “We think this is the time when we will be in a situation where the one who could have been vaccinated has been vaccinated,” he said.
According to him, this is a more efficient option for the system, as it is a one-time payment for vaccinations against stable payment for tests. Currently, two PCR tests per month are covered by public insurance, and people can undergo an antigen test at the insurance company’s expense once every seven days.
“The government of the Czech Republic is not able to motivate the population to be vaccinated, so from September 1, the services and tourism sector will receive another blow,” said Pavel Košnar, chairman of the board of the Association of Pools and Saunas of the Czech Republic. According to him, people will lose the desire to use tourism services in the country and abroad. The impact on the sale of foreign tours will be the same as for swimming pools and services, ie a decrease in demand by 40 to 60 percent.
Inbound tourism will also suffer again, which, according to CUCR Executive Vice President Jaromír Polášek, has been “worth” for many months. “The government will reach a lockdown state, but without the need to close operations and thus without the need for compensation.
The decline in tourism last year due to the pandemic and related measures, according to CUCR, exceeded 161 billion crowns. Revenues in tourism in 2019 reached 300 billion crowns. The industry accounted for three percent of the Czech Republic’s gross domestic product and employed around 250,000 people.
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