The aim of the Epu application is to introduce tourists to less busy locations in the Czech countryside

A survey by the state tourism support agency CzechTourism previously showed that 25 percent of Czechs go on vacation to lesser-known destinations.

The new application Epu, presented by developers from the company Gatyer and Algodos, aims to introduce tourists to less visited locations in the Czech countryside and thus help with overtourism. According to them, the application will not encourage tourists not to go to national parks or protected landscape areas, but will show other places for walking and cycling trips. The Epu app is free to download from Google Play and the App Store.

The application, which was created in cooperation with national parks and the Nature and Landscape Protection Agency, also warns tourists about entering protected areas and instructs them on how to behave properly in them. In addition, it will bring information about closures and restrictions or current attendance. According to Miloš Doubek from the Algodos company, the application predicts it from weather data and historical experience, but in the future it should also work with cameras in parking lots, he said.

According to the Minister of the Environment, Petr Hladík (KDU-ČSL), the Czech Republic is unique in that it offers a wide range of habitats, from lowland floodplain forests to the arctic zone. “You can’t actually see that in another country in such a small area,” he said. “However, it also brings a lot of other phenomena, such as the concentration of people in certain places,” he added. According to him, less visited localities in the Czech countryside are just as valuable as the more popular ones.

A survey by the state tourism support agency CzechTourism previously showed that 25 percent of Czechs go on vacation to lesser-known destinations, and another 33 percent plan to do so. According to the survey, 35 percent of Czechs are willing to pay extra for sustainable travel, i.e. more environmentally friendly accommodation and transport or greater support for local entrepreneurs, and on average by 12.5 percent. Most often, they are young people under 24 years of age.

Tips for trips to lesser-known places in the Czech Republic are also offered to tourists by the Amazing Places app from the Mapotic company. Other applications have a similar focus, such as BezKempu, On bike and on foot or Placehunter.

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