News

5 minute chat with Lani Seelinger from Eating Prague Tours

Thoughts from an American Czechophile and foodie.

What is new at Eating Prague Tours?

Now that we've been in business for over a year, we're really getting to know what makes the market tick here. At the moment we still only run two tours, the English and German versions of our tour of the center, but we're currently working on putting together a new tour. It's still under wraps, but I'll give you a hint -- it will likely involve craft beer and the city's most unique tower.

What is your strategy to reach good results on the market?

People have a ton of choices when it comes to the tourism sector in Prague, and nowadays that even includes food tours (at last count, there were already 6 or 7!). That means that first and foremost, we have to rely on our product and let the tour speak for ourself. Secondly, we just need to let people know that we exist. Food tours may be sweeping the continent, but there are still plenty of people who are entirely new to the concept. If you're one of them, reach out to me and we can figure out a way to get you on the tour! We're always happy to have guests.

Are there any obstacles in doing business in the CR?

To me, it seems like the lingering remnants of the communist period still have some effects on the market. Some of it is institutional - the bureaucratic red tape that comes up with any official business. Some of it is just apparently in people's attitudes - we tend to get a lot of mean-spirited jabs from our competitors, as though they thought that it wasn't our right to exist. Coming from an American background, I know that competition is exactly what drives the free market and forces everyone to make their products and services better and better.

Are there any books or people that have influenced you in any way?

When I was 17, I read The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera. I was also a big hockey fan, and through Kundera plus Czech hockey players like Josef Vašíček, who played on my favorite Carolina Hurricanes, I developed a fascination with the Czech nation. It was only after I started studying the Czech language that I learned that Milan Kundera doesn't even live here or write in Czech anymore, but I was too far gone. He had already started me on the journey that would lead me to be living here now.