Poland haven for tourists in wake of terror attacks

The global travel industry slump since Sept. 11 could mean an increase in tourist numbers to Poland, according to an industry report due out in December.

"This report shows that negative trends have hit global tourism, but (it) also (shows) that Poland may now have its five minutes (of fame)," said Gwidon Wójcik, president of the Polish Tourism Organization (POT), the government agency in charge of promoting the country as a travel destination.

The report on the global travel industry after the U.S. terrorist atrocities, sponsored by the European Travel Commission, which groups 31 governmental agencies promoting travel, will include the current state of the industry and forecasts.

Wójcik said the report will forecast promising opportunities for Central European countries as travel destinations in 2002. He said global travel volume has fallen off by 30-40% since Sept. 11, while transatlantic air traffic has plunged 40-60%. Although he could not yet offer exact figures on the traffic to Poland after the New York terrorist attacks, he said that the decline in Poland was smaller than the global average.

Wójcik also said that inquiries about Poland in POT's Western European offices have increased after Sept. 11 because of the country's location in the center of Europe and its relative safety from centers of terrorist activity. "People believe that Central Europe is a region free of terrorism-related dangers," Wójcik said.

At the 5th Business Tourism Forum in Warsaw last week, Economy Minister Jacek Piechota confirmed that Poland could see more visitors as a result of the worldwide travel slump. "(Since) Sept. 11, it should be expected that the demand for travel within a country's (own) borders and to neighboring countries will grow," Piechota said.

In particular, Polish travel companies are counting on increased numbers of German tourists, who already visit Poland in large numbers - although the weak German economy could hamper this. "German travelers are a chance for Poland now," said Sławomir Wróblewski, president of Meetings Management, a business travel operator that co-organized last week's forum. "Germans will look for non-distant destinations for their holidays." Wróblewski said Poland will also see an increase in visitors from countries such as Luxembourg, France, Austria and Scandinavia.

In the first nine months of this year, the number of foreign visitors to Poland dropped 25.3% to 48.4 million compared to a year ago, according to the Warsaw-based Tourism Institute, which monitors cross-border traffic. But Monika Doroszkiewicz, manager of promotions for POT in Amsterdam, said Poland has a good blend of attractions - forests, lakes, historic towns and cities - that it could capitalize on. She added that because Western Europeans don't associate Poland with the current global conflicts, its popularity could increase.

But POT's Wójcik said the increased interest in Poland may only last several months, so the country should move quickly before losing out to competitive travel offers from other Central European countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic or Slovakia. "The number of inquires about Poland is rising, but they have yet to turn into actual visits," Wójcik said. "We have to respond to this interest with an aggressive campaign that will last several months."

POT plans to launch an $8 million campaign in Europe in early 2002 promoting Poland as a country of "adventures with a happy ending."

"Countries that launch an aggressive promotion campaign before April 2002 will beat (the competition)," Wójcik said.

Robert Wylot