ECONOMIC TRANSITION AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT - MASS TOURISM IN PRAGUE

Prague, a metropolitan city, with the privilage in its historical and cultural heritage (since 1992 on the UNESCO heritage list) has the predominant position in inbound tourism in the Czech Republic. Thus tourism is an important part of Prague's economy and therefore tourism impacts are reflected in life of residents, and in urban planning as well. The aim of the paper is to present how considerably the tourism development in Prague has transformed since 1990s. Primarily, the political and economic transition in 1990s is introduced to hightlight the major implications of the political-economic regime change in field of urban tourism. The research focuses on the development of the nature and structure of tourism demand (tourist flows) and at the same time on the policy of urban planning. The effects of "the urban tourism strategy" (changes in the functional-spatial structure of the tourism supply) describe a survive covering the historical core of the city. Undoubtedly, Prague turned out as a product of mass tourism and to cope with this situation policy-makers and responsible authorities in tourism have to come up with a new strategy that makes Prague competitive of the future.