Poland increasingly attractive

This is three percent up on the first three months of 2005. IT estimates that these tourists spent EUR 4.3 (zł.17) million, seven percent more than last year.

Alex Kloszewski from Warsaw Destination Alliance says between January and March this year Warsaw's five-star hotels had a 74-percent occupancy rate compared to the 2005 average of 65 percent and it is already hard to book rooms for bigger events throughout the year. IT still estimates the number of tourists visiting Poland this year will exceed last year's 16 million because the peak season is still ahead.

However, the number of one-day tourists dropped by one percent to 12.8 million. "The number of our western neighbors dropped by four percent, which is a lot because usually many Germans visit Poland," says IT's Krzysztof Łopociński. According to IT, fewer Germans and Czechs come to Poland to do shopping. Market experts believe the strong złoty could be the main reason behind the drop.