A POT-full of woe

During its third consecutive sitting on the matter, the Council of the Polish Tourist Organization (POT) remained unable to gather the necessary quorum to present an opinion on a candidate for the organization's president. Its former president, Tomasz Wilczek, resigned two months ago.

Piotr Woźniak, the Minister of Economy, who will appoint the POT president, criticized the members of the tourism industry who make up the POT Council. He says that E138 (zł.530.7) million of EU funds has been allocated to Poland's tourism industry, which cannot be spent unless a president is appointed. "Stop boycotting European Union funds," said Woźniak. "Only the head of POT is able to close tenders."

Woźniak also announced his candidate for the POT presidency - Mirosława Boryczka - and said that her candidature would be presented during the next sitting of the POT council on January 9.

However, it is unlikely that a quorum will be formed this time either, as representatives of the tourism industry are concerned about their organization's future.

The controversy surrounding POT started at the end of November 2006, when the Ministry of Economy announced its plan to merge the tourism organization with the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency (PAIiIZ) and form a Polish Organization for Promoting Economy and Tourism (POPGiT). According to a statement issued at that time by the Ministry of Economy, consolidation of the two areas of promotional activity would lead to the establishment of Poland as a brand, which would be recognizable abroad and associated with the highest quality products and services, advanced technology and highly qualified staff.

The consolidation process of POT and PAIiIZ could begin as soon as the end of January, when the Ministry of Economy plans to present an amendment of the POT law to the Sejm.

However, the plans have faced strong disapproval from representatives of Poland's tourism industry. "Promoting tourism is something completely different to promoting industrial investment in Poland," said Marek Traczyk, editor of Travel Trade Gazette. Traczyk explained that those with an interest in tourism promotion are usually small investors aiming to reach customers who spend only a few hundred euro, while those interested in investment opportunities in Poland are a completely different group of investors, willing to spend millions.

The tourism industry is also concerned about the timetable of the consolidation of the two agencies. "How can you create this kind of organization in just a few months, when the preparation to establish POT took over three years?" asked Traczyk.

Traczyk added that promoting Polish products, which are closely connected to tourism in Poland, is a completely different matter to promoting the country's economy. "We can promote oscypek [a traditional mountain cheese], but not factories," he said.