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Segway operators in Prague are considering legal action if the city’s authorities go ahead with a planned ban on the two-wheeled electric vehicles. A spokesperson for the Segway Association of the Czech Republic, which comprises 25 operators, said it would sue the city for losses incurred. From mid-August Segways should be barred from city centre pavements, cycle paths and pedestrian zones, where they have become a familiar sight in recent years.

After a break of several years, the national carrier Czech Airlines is relaunching direct flights between Prague and Beirut. The service comes in response to increased interest among Middle Eastern tourists in Czech spa holidays, but will only be in operation for the summer months.

Most tourists visiting the Czech capital converge on just a few spots in the city, crowding the streets along the so-called Royal Route that leads from through the Old Town Square to Charles Bridge – missing out on many other interesting places that Prague has to offer. Now, city councillors from the district Prague 7 have decided to change that. Last week they announced their plan to become the city’s new cultural district with an alternative to the Royal Route.

Prague councillors have unanimously agreed to ban Segways from the historic centre of the city. Once a final vote has been taken on the matter the two-wheeled electric vehicles should disappear from the area’s pavements, cycle paths and pedestrian zones, where they have become a common sight in recent years. Councillors on Tuesday did not set a date for when the Segway ban will come into effect.

A growing number of Czechs prefer to travel on holidays by car, rather than by plane, according to a survey by ERV, a network of travel insurance experts. This year, more than 50 percent of Czechs will use their car to reach their holiday destination. The survey also suggests that a growing number of Czechs prefer to travel on their own, without the help of a travel agency. Last year that figure amounted to 58 percent. Most Czechs want to spend their holidays at home or in Europe and they prefer bed and breakfast facilities and camping places over hotels.

The head of the largest Czech travel agency Exim Tours, Ferid Nasr, is predicting travel agencies in the country will take a hit this summer, as many Czechs are avoiding classic travel destinations as a result of the migrant crisis and local instability, writes Czech daily Lidové noviny.

The traditional pub Baráčnická rychta in Prague’s Malá Strana district is set for closure at the end of June, E15 reported. The old society of baráčníks (cottage owners) to which the pub belongs failed to reach agreement on extending the contract of the current operator and instead made a deal to lease it to an upmarket Italian-owned hotel located next door, the newspaper said. A hall joined to the pub is a well-known venue for social events and concerts.

Prague has become one of the most popular destinations among Airbnb travellers. More than 10,000 people in the Czech Republic are currently offering their rooms or flats for rent via the Airbnb home-rental site, which is an 86 percent increase on the previous year, the economic daily E15 reported on Wednesday. According to the data provided by Airbnb, Czechs accommodated some 362,000 guests in 2015.

Slovakia has become the most popular tourist destination for Czech tourists, overtaking Croatia. Some 837 thousand Czechs travelled to the neighbouring country in 2015 – rising by nearly three-quarters compared to the previous year, according to data released by the Czech Statistical Office this week.

Over 350,000 Chinese tourists could visit the Czech Republic in 2016, according to the state agency CzechTourism. Last year the figure was 285,000. Most visitors from China enter this country from another European state. However, the number arriving by air last year reached 50,000, a year-on-year jump of nearly 50 percent that followed the introduction of direct flights between the two countries.