People living in central Prague have been offered a 15% discount on groceries at a corner shop chain in an attempt to help locals deal with prices aimed at foreign tourists.
The initiative will apply at selected Žabka convenience stores in the Prague 1 district, which includes the Old Town and most of the Czech capital’s visitor hotspots.
Residents of the district often shop outside their square mile because so many shops in the area cater mainly for tourists, raising prices significantly in the process, local website Expats.cz reported.
A local councilor struck the discount deal with the convenience store chain owned by British retail giant Tesco saying he hoped it “will make their daily shopping at least a little easier.”
While some welcomed the program, another member of the city council pointed out that Žabka has only a limited range of essential goods and is often considered overpriced itself.
The economic impact of tourism on Prague is significant, with around 8 million people – 80% of them foreigners – visiting the city in 2024.
Figures from the Czech Republic’s tourism body show that the industry generated over €7 billion in revenue across the country in 2023.
But it has also led to warnings of overtourism.
Last autumn, the Prague’s authorities banned late-night organized pub crawls – a popular activity for some tourist cohorts – in response to complaints from locals fed up with drunken behavior near their homes, a report by Germany’s DW website noted.
One local told the website that very few Czechs now lived in central Prague, with many apartments now being used as short-term holiday lets for visitors, promoted through websites like Airbnb.
The new initiative comes in response to rising food prices in the Czech Republic as a whole.
Data from the country’s statistical office show that prices in January 2025 were 5% up on 12 months earlier, despite inflation easing to 2.8%, the Prague Morning website reported.
Residents of the district often shop outside their square mile because so many shops in the area cater mainly for tourists, raising prices significantly in the process, local website Expats.cz reported.
A local councilor struck the discount deal with the convenience store chain owned by British retail giant Tesco saying he hoped it “will make their daily shopping at least a little easier.”
While some welcomed the program, another member of the city council pointed out that Žabka has only a limited range of essential goods and is often considered overpriced itself.
The economic impact of tourism on Prague is significant, with around 8 million people – 80% of them foreigners – visiting the city in 2024.
Figures from the Czech Republic’s tourism body show that the industry generated over €7 billion in revenue across the country in 2023.
But it has also led to warnings of overtourism.
Last autumn, the Prague’s authorities banned late-night organized pub crawls – a popular activity for some tourist cohorts – in response to complaints from locals fed up with drunken behavior near their homes, a report by Germany’s DW website noted.
One local told the website that very few Czechs now lived in central Prague, with many apartments now being used as short-term holiday lets for visitors, promoted through websites like Airbnb.
The new initiative comes in response to rising food prices in the Czech Republic as a whole.
Data from the country’s statistical office show that prices in January 2025 were 5% up on 12 months earlier, despite inflation easing to 2.8%, the Prague Morning website reported.
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