Research conducted by the Polish Tourism Organisation showed that Poles’ travel plans for the winter season are focused on holidays in Poland (declared by almost 70 per cent of respondents).

The beauty and hospitality of our country are also appreciated abroad. Poland was ranked first in the CNN Travel ranking “Where to travel in 2023: The best destinations to visit”.

The highest position in the ranking of the best destinations to visit in 2023 prepared by the CNN Travel is not the only award our country received in the first days of this year. MICE Benelux placed Poland on the podium of the MICE HOTlist of 23 destinations for 2023, appreciating not only the qualities of Warsaw, Kraków, Gdańsk, Katowice, Poznań and Wrocław, but also national cuisine.

The last year was a demanding and challenging one. We had to react on an ongoing basis to circumstances unfavourable to the development of domestic tourism. We also took diplomatic measures concerning Russia’s exclusion from the structures of the World Tourism Organisation. Thanks to the programmes implemented, we were able to work out effective tools to support the development of Polish tourism,

said Andrzej Gut-Mostowy, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Sport and Tourism.

Poland – an organiser of international conferences

ICCA – for the first time in Poland

For the first time, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) held its congress in Poland. The 61^st edition of the event, held in Kraków, was an opportunity to establish business relations and showcase the potential of the domestic business tourism industry. Last year’s congress, which had as its slogan “Together we can”, coincided with the 20^th anniversary of the Polish Tourism Organisation’s membership of the ICCA.

The organisation of the ICCA in Poland is not only the proof of the growing position of the Polish MICE industry, but also an opportunity to present our country as an attractive destination for business trips,

said Vice-Minister Andrzej Gut-Mostowy.

 

Tourism sanctions on Russia

On 28 February 2022, Mr Andrzej Gut-Mostowy, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, submitted to UNWTO a request for information on the planned actions in relation to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, which resulted in Russia’s suspension from the UNWTO.

Russia’s suspension from the UNWTO is an example of the fact that the member states of this organisation do not intend to cooperate with the representatives of the aggressor country and strongly condemn Russia’s unprovoked military actions in Ukraine. As a member of this organisation, we could not remain indifferent to Russia’s violation of fundamental rights enshrined in the United Nations Charter or the UNWTO Statute,

Andrzej Gut-Mostowy, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, said.

Polish Tourist Voucher

Statistics to date on the activation and use of Polish Tourist Vouchers by beneficiaries indicate that by 9 January 2023, nearly 4 million (3,861,969 to be exact) vouchers were activated, accounting for more than 86.49% of all vouchers generated. The total payments made involving the vouchers amounted to more than PLN 2.9 billion (PLN 2,957,312,033.58).

Due to the still large number of unused vouchers, it was decided in September 2022 to extend the validity of the Polish Tourist Voucher until the end of March 2023. The programme was unequivocally positively evaluated by beneficiaries and tour operators.

The main objective of the programme is to support the tourism industry affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and to enable a larger group of families with children to spend time together in an attractive way. The extension of the programme until the end of March next year will provide an additional economic boost to the country’s tourism industry, especially the small and medium enterprise sector. Children will be able to use the vouchers during one-day trips, green schools or winter holidays,

underlined Andrzej Gut-Mostowy, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Sport and Tourism.

Strategic Investment Programme “Polish Health Resorts”

Fifty health resort municipalities across Poland will receive non-reimbursable funding of up to PLN 5 million from the funds of the fourth edition of the Strategic Investment Programme – Polish Health Resorts. This is a total of more than PLN 240 million, which will support those local governments which were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The money will be used for investments aimed at extending the offer for patients and tourists in line with the needs they report, including the revitalisation of parks in health resorts, the construction of swimming pools or the modernisation of roads.

More than PLN 240 million from the Polish Health Resorts Programme was allocated to the development of health resort infrastructure – both to the health resort municipalities and to the municipalities with health resort protection areas. It is expected that, thanks to the investments financed by the Polish Deal, the number of tourists visiting health resorts will increase,

said Andrzej Gut-Mostowy, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Sport and Tourism.

Health resorts are one of the priority brand products for the development of tourism in Poland. In the coming years, the development of health resort tourism in Poland will be linked to an increased interest in trips for health purposes made by a growing number of potential customers, who – in connection with the demographic processes taking place in Europe – will be senior citizens and people who have suffered from the COVID-19 disease.

Assistance instruments for travel agencies

Tourist Assistance Fund – on the initiative of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism payments were launched to cover travellers’ refunds of payments for a travel package that was not or will not be fulfilled due to the war in Ukraine.

Tourist Reimbursement Fund – after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a key assistance instrument in the area of tourism. The Fund was intended to assist travel agencies by making payments for the tours that were cancelled due to the epidemic.

System of Public Registers in Tourism – turystyka.gov.pl

In August 2022, the Ministry of Sport and Tourism completed the project “Open Data Plus” under the Operational Programme Digital Poland 2014-2020, Priority Axis 2 “E-administration and open government”, Measure 2.3 “Digital accessibility and usability of public sector information”. The main output of the project is the System of Public Registers in Tourism to be found at www.turystyka.gov.pl.

This initiative provides access to information about the tourist offer in Poland, which, by definition, should translate into improved recreation safety.

Thanks to the system, it is possible to check legally operating hotel facilities all across Poland as well as to check the list of organisers of training for guide candidates and the figures on mountain guides’ licences awarded by voivodship marshals. Through the Public System of Registers in Tourism, it is possible to check whether the facility searched for meets the criteria assigned to each category of accommodation facility and whether the tourist entity is listed in the relevant register. In addition, it is possible to generate statistics, figures in individual registers. The portal also cooperates with external systems and national registers, i.e. REGON, TERYT, e-PUAP.

Programmes under implementation – Polish Tourism Organisation

Polish Tourist Brands, Polish Tourism Organisation Certificate, Mobile Education Centre ”Tourist Academy”, Poland See More – Weekend at Half Price, Certificate of Good Practices – these are some of the programmes implemented by the Polish Tourism Organisation in collaboration with the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. More to be found at: https://www.pot.gov.pl/pl.

Tourist Journalist of the Year

 The meeting was an opportunity to announce the winners of the Polish Tourism Organisation’s competition “Tourist Journalist of the Year”:

• Mieczysław Pawłowicz received the award in the article category for: “Climb the Turbacz!”, which was published in the magazine “National Geographic Traveller”. The journalist described an expedition to the Turbacz – the highest peak in the Gorce Mountains, providing a lot of interesting facts, hints and tips particularly useful for beginners - https://www.national-geographic.pl/traveler,
• Sława Bieńczycka received the award in the radio programme category. In her year-long series, Tourist Hits List, created in cooperation with listeners, she visited lesser-known attractions and destinations, but also holiday hits - https://tlp.polskieradio.pl/,
• Michał Reicher received the award in the photojournalism category for the Classic Auto magazine. He documented a 4,000-kilometre sentimental journey with two Polonez cars through Poland along the rail, road and water infrastructure routes, https://classicautomag.pl/,
• Joanna Lamparska and Radosław Bugajski received the award in the video category. The footage shows the history and secrets of the von Reden Palace located in Bukowiec in Lower Silesia - https://www.radiowroclaw.pl/articles/view/109560/Ostatnia-misja-von-Redenow-Dolnoslaskie-Tajemnice-odkrywa-Joanna-Lamparska-FILM.

 

Record tourism budget for 2023

The need for recreation, in particular for active leisure which helps people to improve their mental and physical condition has been recognised and reflected in the record budget allocated to tourism for 2023.