V4 countries agree to lure tourists to the region together

Ministry state secretaries of the Visegrad Four countries (Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovakia) which are in charge of the development of tourism signed a protocol on their mutual cooperation in this field. This happened at their meeting at Štrbské Pleso, which is in the Slovak High Tatras National Park on Wednesday. The initiative is aimed at overcoming negative developments in the sector, bolstering cooperation and attracting more tourists to central Europe from overseas and exotic countries including China, the U.S., India, South Korea and Singapore. The aim is to attract Asian markets by focusing on promoting tourism through spas, culture and outdoor sports. Apart from a joint course of action in the promotion of the Visegrad 4, the officials also discussed the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on central European countries. "The conflict has an unfavourable impact when it comes to the incoming tourism from Ukraine and Russia," said Slovak Transportation, Construction and Regional Development Ministry State Secretary František Palko. In 2013 there was a spike in the numbers of Russian-speaking tourists in Slovakia by 33 percent on an annual basis, before it went on to drop by just over 20 percent in 2014.