Most tourism income in our region remains fairly close to home. I estimate that around seventy percent of the businesses benefiting from it are locally owned, mainly small and medium-sized companies. That matters because the region urgently needs new economic possibilities.
Heavy industry, especially coal mining, is declining rapidly, and agriculture is becoming smaller too. Tourism cannot replace every lost job, but it offers a serious alternative and gives people a reason to start new businesses.
The benefits are not only financial. Shops carry a much wider range of products than they did before, and some local people can now afford to take holidays themselves. Tourism has made us more connected with the wider world.
At the same time, running a business in this new economy is difficult. Our legal system has not fully caught up, particularly in taxation. Any profit we make is quickly reinvested or paid in taxes, so entrepreneurs may work very hard without seeing much immediate personal gain.
Tourism offers us a future beyond declining industry, but entrepreneurs are still building that future with rules designed for another time.
We are at an early stage. Tourism is new enough that the government has limited expertise and is hesitant to take investment risks. That leaves much of the cost and uncertainty with entrepreneurs. I believe the municipality should treat tourism as a genuine economic priority, plan more deliberately and invest alongside local businesses.
Planning is also needed to prevent prices from rising too quickly and to protect local cultural values. Economic growth should not make the region unaffordable or turn our traditions into empty performances.
For me personally, tourism mostly means working harder. Visitors expect a higher level of service than many customers did in the past. Meeting those expectations can be demanding, but it also pushes me to develop new skills. Tourism has given me opportunities to travel and, unexpectedly, to rediscover my own culture.
Culturally, I see two movements at the same time. Visitors show interest in our traditions, which encourages us to preserve them. Meanwhile, young people imitate foreign clothing and behaviour. Some change is natural and harmless, but I draw a clear line when imitation includes drugs or excessive alcohol use.
Another difficulty is the attitude of some Western visitors. They still see Czechs mainly as people from a former communist country and assume that we are less capable or intelligent. I dislike being treated as if we are not fully equal.
We welcome visitors as equals, and we want them to meet us with the same respect—not as people made inferior by our communist past.
Tourists should also understand that young people watch them. Visitors may think that what they do on holiday is private and temporary, but local youth can treat their behaviour as an example of life in the West. That gives tourists a responsibility, especially regarding alcohol and drugs.
I remain optimistic. Rožnov has culture, nature and local businesses capable of creating a strong tourism economy. We need better cooperation, more informed government support and visitors who respect the people they meet.
Tourism can help us move beyond the old industrial economy, but the new future will work only if it is built on local ownership, cultural confidence and mutual respect.