Vacation nation

It is expected that by the end of 2005 as many as 15 million tourists from abroad will have come to Poland. The last time when such a record number of visitors came to the country was four years ago.

There was a 13-percent growth in tourists coming from the 'old' EU countries other than Germany. Also arrivals from overseas, i.e. the US, Australia, Japan, or Canada, have increased by 30 percent. The number of foreign passengers to Polish airports increased by 38.5 percent.

Tourists are spending more and more on their Polish holidays. Last year they left $2.9 (zł.9.27) billion, which means that on average each tourist spent $160 (zł.512) per visit, and $34 (zł.109) per day. Tomasz Moroz, vice president of Travelplanet, says that the phenomenon was easy to foresee. "Foreigners did not realize Poland is an interesting and safe country. Certainly, the country's accession to EU helped strangers to discover Poland. I am sure the interest in Poland will grow proportionally to the interest in the CEE region."