Tourist attraction
It is now up to local authorities to learn how to get a larger slice of this profitable pie.
Thanks to low-cost airlines and Poland's accession to the European Union, Polish cities are becoming more and more fashionable among tourists from both the West and the East. Relatively low prices for goods and services are convincing a growing number of foreigners to take a jaunt here to shop, see a dentist, celebrate their birthday or even get married. It is now up to local and national authorities to promote the country's assets and make the most of a lucrative source of income.
Figures from the Institute of Tourism (IT) give a highly optimistic picture of Poland's tourism market. Total receipts from international visits in 2005 amounted to $6.23 (zł.20.2) billion. Some $3.33 (zł.10.8) billion of that came from tourists, and the remainder was spent by single-day visitors. Tourists' average expenditure amounted to some $150 (zł.486) per person. Daily expenditures per person averaged $34 (zł.110). Day trippers spent $58 (zł.188) per person. The IT estimates that tourism generates seven percent of the country's GDP.
East meets West
The Institute's data also shows that 4.3 million more people came to Poland in 2005 than in 2004. A total of 64.6 million foreigners visited the country last year, of which 15.2 million were tourists. Poland is growing in popularity among citizens from EU countries such as are Ireland, Great Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, France and Italy, as well as among Australians, Canadians, Americans, Koreans and the Japanese. The growth in tourists from Canada exceeds 60 percent. At the same time, the data shows that more and more Russians, Ukrainians, Romanians, Turks and Bulgarians are choosing to visit Poland.
Krzysztof Łopaciński, the IT's director, says that the largest number of visitors used to be so-called 'ethnic tourists' - mostly Germans coming to see their former communities from before World War II, and Jews learning about the Holocaust. Now the situation has changed. "Earlier the average age of people coming to Poland was much higher. Now it is just the opposite. More and more young tourists are coming here and the trend will continue," says Łopaciński.
Although these younger foreigners usually spend only a couple of days in Poland at most, Łopaciński names three leading reasons for their visits: partying, shopping and medical tourism.
Fun factory
"I've never been to Poland before, but it's a great place. The pubs and restaurants are fantastic, lots of things are cheaper than in London and everyone speaks English," says Jassen Hopes, who came to Kraków with a group of friends to celebrate his twentieth birthday. There are hundreds of young people like Hopes on the streets, in cafes and clubs in Kraków or Wrocław. "Tourists are interested in coming here because Kraków is a vibrant city, with life all night long," says Jacek Majchrowski, Mayor of Kraków.
Cheaper alcohol, food and hotels are even more of a draw. "Young people from abroad already know in which bars in Warsaw, Kraków or Wrocław they can buy alcohol even if they are not old enough," says Łopaciński. Groups from England, Scotland, Ireland and Scandinavia often organize stag nights here and sometimes even their weddings.
St. Mary's Basilica in Kraków's main square draws couples from all over the world who wish to take their vows in the church. "We have already had people from France, the United States, Japan, Hong Kong and Hawaii. Some dates are already booked for next year," says Father Bronisław Fidelus from St. Mary's.
Apart from partying and getting hitched, young Swedes or Brits also see the sights, visit museums, go to concerts, fly balloons, go canoeing, climb the mountains or go on a sleighride.
Nip-and-tuck trips
But it's not all fun and frolics. Increasing numbers of foreigners come to Poland to go under the knife. In 2005 foreigners spent some $65 (zł.233) million on plastic surgery, dental operations and other healthcare services. The Germans, who started the trend a couple of years ago, are now rapidly being followed by Brits, Dutchmen and Scandinavians.
Foreign patients amount to around 30-50 percent of the clients in private Polish clinics, and the rate stands even higher along the western border. "Last year we had around 400 patients and 80 percent of them were foreigners," says Elżbieta Barańska from NZOZ Chirurgia Plastyczna, a private plastic-surgery organization, in Słubice. "However, if the number increases we will have to hire more staff to make sure we are able to provide a high level of service. Now we are fully booked till the end of May," she adds.
The driving force behind medical tourism is the price. "The cost of an operation to relieve gynecomastia [excessive development of breasts in men] reaches L3,500 [zł.19,910] in Britain and we do it for EUR 1,000 [zł.3,982]. At the same time, well-equipped operating theaters, single rooms and a-la-carte food are all included," says Barańska. Dental services, which are also popular, are often at least 50 percent cheaper.
"Polish healthcare providers are attractive in terms of the price, but the quality repeatedly beats that found in other countries hands down. We are also among the few countries which offer rehabilitation," says Rafał Szmytke, deputy director at the Polish National Tourist Office (POT). "There are many affluent clients who don't care about the costs and choose places like Nałęczów with its wellness and spa centers anyway," adds the IT's Łopaciński.
Shopping sprees
Poland's low prices are proving irresistible to shoppers. Germans go to Poznań, Szczecin, Zielona Góra, Wrocław and other smaller towns near the border to buy food, furniture, clothes and footwear, as well as building and decorating materials. The Czechs shop for food and footwear in Cieszyn. An increasing number of British day trippers catch a flight to Warsaw or Kraków to do their shopping. However, according to the IT, last year 750,000 shoppers came to Poland from over the eastern border.
Tourists from Belarus and Russia make up roughly 25 percent of all shoppers in Białystok. Like the Germans on the other side of the country they buy building materials, but most of all they come for clothes, chemical products, cosmetics, gold and food. "In 2004 over 740,000 tourists came here, most of them just to do shopping, and the number is growing," says Mariusz Gorustowicz from the Regional Tourist Organization in Białystok.
"Package tours to Poland with some time devoted to shopping are in fashion now among Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians," says POT's Szmytke. "Many people come here to buy designer clothes because they are far more expensive in the east. Besides, it is easier for Ukrainians to get a visa to Poland than to Germany," adds Łopaciński.
Flying leap
Some argue that the fashion for Poland is a result of the country's accession to the European Union. "There is a common awareness that Poland is safer, and everything is within arm's reach," says POT's Szmytke. Andrzej Hulewicz, vice-president of Mazurkas Travel, a leading tourist agency, says that many foreigners are interested in 'Discover Poland' trips, in order to learn more about the new EU member state. All, however, agree that the rapid rise of cheap flights has had the greatest impact on the growth in the number of tourists in Poland. "Cheap flights and cheap hotels mean that those who never travel can now travel a lot," says the IT's Łopaciński.
In 2005 11.5 million passengers passed through Polish airports. Although Warsaw's Frederick Chopin Airport served over seven million passengers, representing 61 percent of last year's total, the popularity of regional airports is growing. Kraków's John Paul II Airport recorded significant growth last year. The number of passengers using the hub rose by nearly 100 percent year-on-year to reach over 1.5 million in 2005. Katowice's Pyrzowice also served more than one million passengers in 2005, and experienced an 86-percent traffic increase over 2004. Gdańsk's Lech Walęsa and Wrocław's Nicholas Copernicus airports followed with some 678,000 and 454,000 passengers respectively.
The Polish airline market is growing much faster than in the rest of Europe. The Civil Aviation Office (ULC) estimates that in 15 years the number of passengers serviced in Poland will reach some 39 million. The 18 new destinations to be launched in Kraków this summer will give the city's airport a total of 49 connections.
"These, together with charter flights will allow us to serve over two million passengers in 2006," says Kamil Kamiński, president of the John Paul II International Airport in Kraków-Balice. Other cities are also starting new flights, not only to European destinations.
Room for improvement
Easy access to air connections and numerous tourist attractions don't necessarily mean that Poland has nothing to work on. "Tourism in Poland is doing well, but could do much better. Unfortunately, many Poles still associate tourism only with rest and relaxation. Hardly anyone looks at the matter from the business perspective," says POT's Szmytke.
"We should invest and create a real tourist product, and we will all benefit from that. We lack so-called 'communication accessibility' with information distribution channels," says Łopaciński. Mazurkas' Hulewicz shares this opinion and believes it's time to provide comprehensive services.
Although the figures look impressive, people in Poland still do not understand that in order to earn money, some must first be invested. "Many local authorities discuss the problems of agriculture and the healthcare system, and that's good, but they mustn't forget about the hen that lays the golden eggs. If they don't start thinking about tourism, they will have nothing to spend. Fortunately the situation is improving," says Szmytke.
"Tourism is a clean branch of the economy, creates development opportunities for the regions and is a good instrument to fight unemployment in the country," adds Hulewicz.
