Beautiful prospects
According to a report by the Gdańsk Institute for Market Economics (IBnGR), this year's Miss World beauty contest to be held in Poland in September could have a very positive effect on the economy.
The budget will receive some zł.16 million just from VAT thanks to the event, which will be attended by over 4,000 people. Within the next four years, says the report, the budget will earn zł.240 million, 20,000 jobs will be created and GDP will grow by one percent. Polish regions would normally have to spend around zł.30 million to achieve the same promotional results.
Ewa Wachowicz, Miss Polonia 1992 and a spokesperson for the Miss Polonia Bureau, hopes the contest will contribute to improving Poland's image abroad. "The promotional effect of the event is the most important aim," says Bogdan Wyżnikiewicz, deputy president of IBnGR. Stanisław Wojtera, deputy president of the National Tourism Office (POT), believes that thanks to the estimated two billion TV viewers who will watch the final, the event is a highly cost-effective means of promotion and a great opportunity to create a better image of the country.
The clock is ticking
However, a great deal still remains to be done if the show is to fulfill its potential. Funding remains a problem. Unlike in previous years, the decision to hold the contest in Poland was made at relatively short notice, just 10 months before the event. As a result, not all contracts and agreements have been signed and POT has not yet decided whether it will co-finance the contest or not.
In the wider context, Warsaw's tourism policy as a whole is inconsistent and lacking a common strategy. The city still does not have a local tourist office. In a short clip produced for a BBC and International Herald Tribune campaign to promote Warsaw, organized by the Warsaw Destination Alliance, no City Hall representative took part. Initiatives such as Multifest, which informs visitors of events in Warsaw, are not fully comprehensive, and some good ideas, such as a project to create a cheaper accommodation base, have not been taken up by City Hall.
Bureaucratic headache
According to Tadeusz Deszkiewicz, director of the Bureau of Promotion and City Development at City Hall, the accommodation initiative was no more than an idea.
However, Ewa Nowik, a marketing manager at the Warsaw Tourist Office, says a complete draft and application form for the co-financing of the initiative with EU funds was submitted to the Bureau of Promotion and City Development. "The procedures took too long and it was too late to apply for money because the 2004-2006 financing period had ended," says Nowik.
