The number of tourists deciding to spend a holiday in Slovakia has gone up this year, according to the Slovak Tourism Agency (SACR). Citing data from the Statistics Office, SACR pointed out that 1.4 million holidaymakers visited Slovakia in the first four months of 2016. Of the total figure, 866,000 were domestic tourists, a year-on-year rise of 23 percent. Meanwhile, 520,000 visitors were foreigners, meaning year-on-year growth of 24 percent. "The data indicates that 2016 is likely to set a record for Slovak tourism. Our prognosis for 10-percent year-on-year growth is being confirmed as accurate so far", said SACR general director Igor Donoval.
Among foreign tourists, Slovakia is visited most often by Czechs (146,054 tourists - up 25.4 percent year-on-year), Poles (62,994 - 18.3 percent) and Germans (46,223 - 17.7 percent). However, growing numbers have also been recorded among tourists from Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the Netherlands, Spain, the USA, China, India and Israel.
Domestic tourism is also increasingly popular among Slovaks, according to a survey conducted by NMS Market Research agency. The survey found that 86 percent of Slovaks regularly take trips within Slovakia and to the Czech Republic, and as many as 50 percent of the respondents prefer single-day outings. "The second most popular alternative is a trip that lasts two or more days but less than a week", stated the survey results.
Most Slovaks (92 percent) like hiking, although more than one third - mainly men and young people - said that they use bicycles. "It is men and the younger, more educated and affluent category of people that go out on trips more often", reported the survey results. Slovaks like to go to the countryside (34 percent), but also to visit historical sites such as castles and manor houses (31 percent).
