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Vendors with distinctive red umbrellas who lure tourists onto “Hop On – Hop Off” sightseeing buses are back in Prague’s historic center: despite a municipal ban. A clever, though borderline unethical, loophole has prompted their return.
How did we get here?
It has long been illegal to sell any items for profit on Old Town Square. However, street sellers donning the red umbrellas would get around this law by posing as charity collectors, claiming a portion of ticket sales supported a charitable foundation. This allowed them to operate.
In March 2025, the City of Prague passed a law that banned vendors from selling tourist services cloaked as charitable donations in Prague 1 and parts of Prague 2: a tactic previously employed by groups affiliated with the nonprofit Help Mi.
For a time, the umbrellas vanished from Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square. But now, the red umbrellas have reappeared, Czech media reports.
How is their return even possible?
Now, the street vendors have decided to offer a new product—the Prague Panorama Journal—for a whopping CZK 900 (the first issue was priced at CZK 750). Why is it so expensive? Because it has a “free” sightseeing bus ticket included.
Journalists from Czech news outlet E15.cz decided to investigate. The red umbrella-wielding sellers confirmed upon enquiry that they were also selling tickets for sightseeing tours of Prague Castle and the Dancing House—and even boat rides for an additional CZK 150.
“You can buy tickets online, but then I don’t get a commission. This way, I can give you a better price,” one vendor told an E15 reporter.
But is it legal?
Though the vendors claim to be “selling” newspapers, police say the practice violates the March 2025 order by offering a service. “Instead of just a periodical [standard newspaper publication], they show route maps or distribute promotional leaflets,” said city police spokesperson Jiřina Ernstová.
According to officials, enforcement remains difficult. “The sellers avoid making offers in front of uniformed police officers,” Ernstová added.
Legal expert Monika Jirásková told E15 that disguising a banned service as a newspaper sale is likely illegal. “If the outcome is a commercial service, it is legally irrelevant that the operator ‘wraps' it into another product,” she said.
Prague City Hall has referred multiple cases to the administrative authority. “We are exploring various legal tools, including possible changes to the existing regulations,” said municipal spokesperson Vít Hofman.
A stain on Prague?
Prague-based influencer and journalist Janek Rubeš, who co-runs the scam-exposing Honest Guide YouTube channel, has in the past exposed the practices deployed by the red umbrella salespeople. He recently spotlighted the new tactic on YouTube.
“The city's leadership must stand firm and not be a laughing stock for such pranks; it must be resistant to such stunts. If I wear a T-shirt with the inscription I am not a thief, that does not give me the right to steal from a store,” he says.
Tourism analyst Nora Dolanská emphasized the importance of transparency. “Such services are standard in many cities, but deception harms the city’s reputation,” she said.
False claims: and subsequent silence
The publisher of the newspaper, Help Mi, is headed by businessman Hesham Moursi and states it provides integration support for migrants. However, vendors made no mention of charitable work during interactions observed by reporters.
Expats.cz checked his online credentials, and it appears Moursi is Egyptian but has lived in Czechia on a long-term basis.
Neither Help Mi nor the bus tour operators responded to requests for comment.
