Second place in the same category belongs to Babylon Centre Liberec. The most visited castle/chateau is Lednice Chateau leaving Český Krumlov in second place. In the category of natural sites, it is again the caves of the Moravian Karst that are the most popular among tourists. As usual, the most sought after technical monument was the Petřínská View Tower and the most popular museum/gallery is the National Museum.
“The outcome of last year’s turnout of touristic destinations reflects the general trends in tourism. People mostly seek entertainment and relaxation,“ added the Director of the CzechTourism Agency, Rostislav Vondruška.
The most visited category of touristic destinations are the zoological gardens, which saw a 2% increase in the number of visitors last year. Besides Prague Zoo, a significant increase in visitors was registered in Pilsen Zoo and the Botanic Gardens. Their 13% increase is the result of many factors, the most important being the opening of the new Asian Garden exposition, as stated Pilsen Zoo.
In the category of Entertainment 2009, most visitors headed for the biggest aquapark in Central Europe, the Aquapalace Prague. Also the Babylon Centre, which came second, saw an increase of over 20%.
The biggest rise in 2009 was recorded in the Jihlava Zoo, which improved its position by seven places and ended up among the top 20 destinations. The record increase in percentage of visitors was attained by the Highlands Museum ( 110%). The biggest fall of almost 30 % affected the National Gallery in Prague due to the closure of the exhibition in Kinsky Palace and also the closure of Zbraslav Chateau in the middle of the year.