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A record number of Czech tourists are expected to travel abroad in 2019, suggests a survey conducted by Czech Radio among the country’s biggest travel agents. Turkey is likely to be one of the most popular destinations, along with Greece, Bulgaria and Croatia, it found.

A pre-Christmas poll by the Reuters news agency of several dozen analysts pointed to a likely strengthening of the Czech crown next year, bolstered by the anti-inflationary policy of the Czech National Bank’s (ČNB). Many analysts predict two rate hikes in the first half of 2019.

The investment group R2G co-founded by Czech billionaire Oldřich Šlemr and the owners of the Avast software company has reportedly bought the luxury Hotel InterContinental in Prague. According to the Czech edition of Forbes magazine, the sale price likely exceeded 5 billion crowns.

Inspectors from the State Veterinary Authority are planning to carry out checks on around 30 percent of stands stalls selling carp, the fish that most Czechs eat for Christmas dinner. There are almost 2,400 such vendors in place around the country.

More than 250,000 cubic metres of timber was felled in the Šumava National Park in the south-west of the country this year, which is an increase by nearly 100 percent compared to 2017. Most of the trees, nearly 80 percent of the overall production, were felled by storms that hit the national park in the summer and autumn of 2017. Only 48,000 cubic metres of timber came from trees infested with bark beetle, which is more or less the same amount as last year.

This year’s title Exporter of the Year award has again been claimed by the country’s largest automobile manufacturer Škoda Auto. The award for greatest export growth was won by pressure components manufacturer DGS Druckguss Systeme, while engineering firm Hutní Projekt Frýdek-Místek took the prize for best medium-sized exporter.

Plans for constructing a fourth metro line in the Czech capital are nearly as old as Prague’s first metro station. Yet they have proceeded at a snail’s pace, with multiple delays. The recently elected mayor has pledged to begin construction during his time in office, but a recent review of old contracts threatens to slow progress again.

Czech carmaker Škoda Auto has established a 30 million euro (750 million crown) endowment fund with the aim of making the seat of its corporate headquarters in central Bohemia a more attractive place to live.

Czech rail operators are struggling to find new train drivers. Many are nearing retirement age and not enough young people are entering the profession, the news site Lidovky.cz reported. Employers seeking to fill the shortage are training their own engine drivers, at a cost of up to CZK 1 million each.

The number of passengers going through Prague’s Václav Havel Airport exceeded 16 million this year, setting a new record in the airport’s history. According to a press release issued on Wednesday, it is expected to clear 16.8 million passengers by the end of the year.