Vietnam is having a moment with Czech holidaymakers. Flight searches for Hanoi are up 47% year-on-year, and the Vietnamese capital now ranks among the three most in-demand winter destinations at Student Agency, one of the Czech Republic's biggest travel companies. The timing is no accident: a new direct Prague–Hanoi route launches in October 2026, just ahead of the Christmas and New Year season where the demand is showing up.
Thailand still rules the roost — Bangkok and Phuket remain Student Agency's top sellers — but the broader picture points east and to the beach. The Czech association of tour operators (ACCKA) lists Thailand, Zanzibar, the Dominican Republic, the Maldives, Vietnam, the Philippines and Mexico as the hot long-haul picks for the 2026–27 festive season, with Egypt the dependable short-to-medium-haul favourite. Most Czech customers book all-inclusive trips of roughly a week, though some stretch longer, especially in Egypt.
Direct airlift is the engine behind much of this. Prague's winter schedule now covers 145 destinations, 12 more than last winter, and new charter routes connect the Czech capital with Cambodia and China's Hainan Island. Tour operators say non-stop flights cut travel time enough to make far-flung places feel like realistic week-long holidays rather than marathon journeys. Fischer, another major Czech agency, reports the same pattern: Vietnam, Cambodia, the Dominican Republic and Zanzibar are all trending with its customers.
The contrast is with the Middle East. Bookings to the UAE and Oman have dropped by tens of percentage points year-on-year, with regional conflicts cited as a key factor, and EXIM Tours has yet to restart its charters to either country. Interestingly, that hasn't dampened Czech appetite for long-haul sun — travellers are simply redirecting their budgets to Asia, East Africa and the Caribbean instead.
For travellers, the takeaway is practical: competition on new direct routes tends to mean better fares and easier logistics, and Vietnam is squarely in that window ahead of the October 2026 launch. If you've been putting off a Southeast Asia trip because of the flying time, the Prague–Hanoi non-stop changes the maths — and Czech demand suggests you won't be the only one booking.
