The number of tourists interested in Budweiser Budvar increased by 10% last year

Last year, the number of tourists interested in Budweiser Budvar tours increased by 10% year-on-year. The brewery’s production facilities were viewed by 51,749 people, with most people traditionally coming from the Czech Republic, Germany and Austria. Foreign visitors participated from 77%, turning up from 80 countries. Arrivals from China achieved the greatest dynamics, rising YOY threefold. The number of visitors from the United Kingdom significantly increased (by 90%), so did the numbers from many other countries (see the table below). On the other hand, there was a sharp drop in numbers of tourists from Russia (by 50%) and Germany. Nonetheless, last year's results confirmed the long-term growth trend: in five years the number of visitors has gone up by 44%.

“The number of Czech tourists increased by 15% last year. Evidently, extending our range of services by theatrical tours of the brewery with acted scenes in period costumes was instrumental in the rise. The interest in them way surpassed our expectations,” says Budweiser Budvar gastro department’s manager Tomáš Olejník. The Visitor Centre originally planned to organise only five theatre tours on the occasion of the 120th anniversary celebrations of Budweiser Budvar’s founding. “Responding to strong demand, eventually 10 tours took place attended by over 800 people. We will definitely continue with this project this year as well,” adds Tomáš Olejník. Last year saw the reconstruction of the multimedia exhibition “The Story of beer from Budweis” finalised. “Our visitors particularly appreciate being able to move directly within the brewery’s production premises, as opposed to an artificial theme park for tourists. They can see the beer production up close and observe our employees at work,” concludes Budweiser Budvar gastro department’s manager Tomáš Olejník. The entire tour route can be “walked” virtually as well at http://goo.gl/nf3TCW thanks to Google Street View.

Owing to great public interest, the theatrical tours of the brewery with acted scenes in period costumes will also continue this year. They will take place always from 19:30 on the following dates:
April 2016:        6.4. / 13.4. / 20.4. / 27.4.
October 2016:      5.10. / 12.10. / 19.10. / 26.10.

The standard brewery tours are available every day, including weekends, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except for January and February, when it is closed on Sundays and Mondays. Booking in advance is always essential. Every working day (in the summer and at weekends), people can attend a tour without prior reservation at 2 p.m. Our tour guides speak Czech or one of the other six world languages (German, English, French, Russian, Italian and Spanish). The tour lasts approx. 60 minutes, and is intended for groups of 5-50 individuals. The basic tour price is CZK 120, but some categories of visitors can get a discount. Further details on Budweiser Budvar tours, including on-line reservation, can be found at the website http://www.visitbudvar.cz/.  

Budweiser Budvar Visitor Centre has been offering entertainment and educating knowledge during the tours of the brewery’s production premises since 2005, offering many other services as well. Directly within the premises, there is the Budvar Beer Restaurant, where the visitors can particularly savour gastronomic specialties of the Czech cuisine besides the perfectly treated beer. The range of services is completed by a souvenir and beer shop as well as comprehensively equipped facilities for corporate training and social events.

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