€6 million won't buy a tourism boom
The problem that faces Jan Piotrowski, deputy director of the foreign markets department at the cash-strapped National Tourist Organisation, is persuading people to make their first trip to Poland. Those who take the plunge are more often than not so delighted by their experiences of the history of Kraków and the clean and unpolluted countryside, mountains and lakes that they immediately express an interest in making a return visit.
The difficulty, though, is getting them here in the first place. People outside the country know very little about it, to the amazement of most Poles who fondly - and in Piotrowski's view mistakenly - believe that they are very well-known all over the world. Even the closest neighbours can, in response to being asked what they know about the country, get little further than mentioning Lech Wałęsa and Pope John Paul II.
Severe financial constraints limit what Piotrowski and his department can do to raise the national profile around the world. Radio and television campaigns are out of the question; likewise, spreads in foreign media all out of the question. Instead, he is confined to the "classic tools" of printed materials and tourist fairs.
It is all in stark contrast to the sophisticated campaigns to promote the delights of neighbouring EU candidate countries Hungary, Estonia and the Czech Republic, for example, and even more so the lavish promotional budgets of countries which are already major tourist destinations, such as Spain, Italy and France.
The significance the government attaches to promoting the country is reflected by the cut in Piotrowski's budget this year, slashed from €10 million to €6 million. The figure is what one British city, York, spends in half a year on luring visitors.
Seminars are a feature of the tourist fairs, and they afford Piotrowski a chance, at least, to correct misconceptions.
"Especially in Germany and other European countries, the image is that safety here is not at a very high level," he said.
So his organisation set about putting minds to rest, and succeeded in proving that car thefts, for example, are less prevalent in Poland than they are in other western European countries, Germany included.
"We try to give the message that Poland is a normal country, where you can use a credit card, where you can get proper medical care," Piotrowski said.
People of Polish descent living abroad also play a key role in promoting the country's image, as do unofficial "ambassadors of Poland" - scientists, doctors and others who are eminent in their fields. Often they make such a powerful impression at the international meetings they attend that Poland is invited to host a subsequent gathering.
And so a whole new group of people get to visit the country for the first time.
The difficulty, though, is getting them here in the first place. People outside the country know very little about it, to the amazement of most Poles who fondly - and in Piotrowski's view mistakenly - believe that they are very well-known all over the world. Even the closest neighbours can, in response to being asked what they know about the country, get little further than mentioning Lech Wałęsa and Pope John Paul II.
Severe financial constraints limit what Piotrowski and his department can do to raise the national profile around the world. Radio and television campaigns are out of the question; likewise, spreads in foreign media all out of the question. Instead, he is confined to the "classic tools" of printed materials and tourist fairs.
It is all in stark contrast to the sophisticated campaigns to promote the delights of neighbouring EU candidate countries Hungary, Estonia and the Czech Republic, for example, and even more so the lavish promotional budgets of countries which are already major tourist destinations, such as Spain, Italy and France.
The significance the government attaches to promoting the country is reflected by the cut in Piotrowski's budget this year, slashed from €10 million to €6 million. The figure is what one British city, York, spends in half a year on luring visitors.
Seminars are a feature of the tourist fairs, and they afford Piotrowski a chance, at least, to correct misconceptions.
"Especially in Germany and other European countries, the image is that safety here is not at a very high level," he said.
So his organisation set about putting minds to rest, and succeeded in proving that car thefts, for example, are less prevalent in Poland than they are in other western European countries, Germany included.
"We try to give the message that Poland is a normal country, where you can use a credit card, where you can get proper medical care," Piotrowski said.
People of Polish descent living abroad also play a key role in promoting the country's image, as do unofficial "ambassadors of Poland" - scientists, doctors and others who are eminent in their fields. Often they make such a powerful impression at the international meetings they attend that Poland is invited to host a subsequent gathering.
And so a whole new group of people get to visit the country for the first time.
