"Slovakia is an important economic partner for Poland. Actions taken during the pandemic increase supply and demand. For the tourism economy to grow, it is necessary to rebuild the confidence of tourists and take care of safety,”

- said the Prime Minister's plenipotentiary for the promotion of the Polish brand Andrzej Gut-Mostowy.

"Undoubtedly, the introduction of the EU Covid Certificate, which makes it easier for EU citizens to travel freely, is a success”

- The deputy minister added.

"Poles and Slovaks are close nations. Our meeting today clearly demonstrates that cooperation in the field of tourism is an important part of the relations that our countries share Poland is Slovakia's 3rd most important trading partner.”

 - said Secretary of State of the Slovak Republic Katarina Bruncková.

According to the preliminary data of the Central Statistical Office, the Polish-Slovak trade turnover from January to July this year amounted to EUR 7.01 billion. This represents an increase of 25.8% compared to last year. Polish exports amounted to EUR 3.95 bln (22% y/y), Polish imports EUR 3.05 bln (30.9% y/y) and the positive balance for Poland EUR 0.89 bln. In 2020. Slovakia ranked 12th in Polish exports (2.48% share) and 14th in imports (1.83% share).

"Slovakia is Poland's main partner in introducing the Carpathian Convention in the Carpathian Euroregion. The Carpathian Platform for Sustainable Tourism (CPST) is an important and good neighbourly cooperation. Many development projects are the result of this cooperation.”

- Deputy Minister Gut-Mostowy emphasised.

On the Slovakian side, the Carpathian Euroregion covers the area of the Prešov and Košice voivodships. The cooperation is conducted within the framework of the Carpathian Platform for Sustainable Tourism - Centre Poland.

Sustainable Tourism Platform

CPST aims to promote cooperation between the Carpathian countries focused on sustainable tourism. It supports the cultural and natural heritage and brings benefits to the people of the Carpathians.

In cooperation with Slovak partners, 3 priorities will be implemented until 2023.

• Institution building - revitalization of cooperation system. This is a professional, complete Cooperation System of CPST, capable of autonomous real-time coordination of development processes in sustainable tourism in the Carpathians. This thematic category also includes the task of reactivating the Working Group on Sustainable Tourism of the Carpathian Convention. In the framework of the implementation of this priority, among others, a cooperation agreement was signed on 22.09.2021 with the leading Association of towns and villages in Slovakia.
• Carpathian Turism Observatory - creation of Carpathian Centre and Information System for tourism industry. Within three years, a professional institution will be established to manage information necessary for the coordination of sustainable tourism development in the Carpathians. It will carry out services, analyses and manage information from the perspective of the tourist. This will be done both as a client of sustainable tourism and as an institutional client who participates in the development policy. The Statistical Office in Rzeszów , in cooperation with Slovak partners, is designing the architecture and developing the functionality of the observatory.
• Carpathian Culture - creating a product offer based on the cultural heritage of the Carpathians within the framework of the Carpathian Brand. This offer would be directed to "premium" customers. It would include tourist packages related to the Carpathian region. These packages would make use of the cultural heritage and professional facilities - business structures that are responsible for the development of the region's infrastructure. Cooperation with Slovakia, related to the introduction of the Carpathian Brand, is particularly important here.

Carpathian Brand

An example of cooperation with Slovak partners as part of the Carpathian Brand is the implementation of the Etnocarpathia project - the promotion of Polish-Slovak tourist products based on folk culture in cooperation with Slovak borderland self-governments, cultural institutions and business partners.

A website dedicated to Carpathia has also been launched www.visitcarpathia.com.

Since 2013 the Association of Carpathian Euroregion Poland has been implementing its own territorial brand called Carpathia.

The purpose of this brand is to create a global tourist destination and an economic quality mark of the Carpathians, bringing together the best products, attractions and services, in line with the Carpathian Brand Strategy. The uniqueness of the Carpathia Brand stems from the combination of the diverse and multi-religious culture of the Carpathian region and the unique space of the mountains with a rich natural world.

Cooperation with Slovakia in the framework of Cross-border Functional Areas

The Association of Carpathian Euroregion Poland has initiated the creation of new organisational, legal and functional solutions. These support international cooperation in the Carpathians at local and interregional levels. The result of this cooperation are, inter alia, the Cross-Border Functional Areas (CBFA), which combine common geographical, spatial and socio-economic conditions. Thanks to the system of functional links and the unified development goals that have been defined on its basis, it will be possible to use the common space effectively. The CBFAs that cover the border areas of the Slovak Republic are:

• CBFA Kremenaros - established in Ustrzyki Dolne as a result of an agreement between representatives of the Association of Carpathian Euroregion Poland and local authorities of the Polish, Slovak and Ukrainian sides. CBFA Kremenaros includes the following areas:
  • Bieszczadzki, Lesko and Sanocki districts - on the Polish side, 
  • Snina, Humenne and Medzilaborce districts - on the Slovak side,
  • Uzhhgorod, Perechyn and Velikoberezhyn regions - on the Ukrainian side.
• CBFA Beskid Niski - established in Oženna, is the result of an agreement signed by the Association of Carpathian Euroregion Poland and Polish and Slovak local governments. CBFA Beskid Niski consists of:
  • Krośnieński district, Jasielski district, Gorlicki district and Krosno (a city with district rights) - on the Polish side,
  • the districts of Svidnik, Stropkov and Bardejov - on the Slovakian side.    

In cooperation with Slovak partners strategies for CBFA are being prepared. On their basis applications for EU funds for cross-border territorial investments for tourism purposes will be prepared.

Personal exchange

Polish-Slovak tourist exchange is based on direct contacts between tour operators who operate in both markets.

According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, Slovakia is visited by approximately 2 million tourists annually. It is estimated that about 400 thousand of them are tourists from Poland.

Poland is visited by around 6-7 million tourists from Slovakia every year. However, these are mainly one-day visits.

Treaty links

The legal basis for this cooperation is the Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Poland and the Government of the Slovak Republic on cooperation in the field of tourism. The agreement was signed in Jaworzyna Tatrzańska on 26 June 1997.