In 2018, there were a total of 1,135,000 arrivals from the UK to Poland with 920,000 tourist visits, the Polish Ministry of Sport and Tourism announced.
Poland is increasingly recognised for its culinary excellence, rich history and value for money. Last year, Kraków was named the inaugural European Capital of Gastronomic Culture for 2019, Łódz was ranked as the second-best value destination worldwide by Lonely Planet and Poznań was named the best city break in Europe by European Best Destinations.
The continued growth in visitors from the UK can be attributed to trend indicators showing British travellers have been increasingly looking for alternative destinations to visit. In 2018 over a quarter (27 per cent) of holidaymakers planned to visit a new country and a third (32 per cent) expected to visit a new resort or city, according to ABTA’s 2018 Travel Trends Report.
In 2018, The Polish Tourism Organisation brought in an external UK PR agency, AM+A, running a series of events and campaigns throughout the year. Events included a gala dinner in the House of Commons, a ‘four cities’ tasting experience in Dublin and stand events at the World Travel Market, bringing together a host of travel journalists, travel trade experts and leading Politicians. In addition to this, an exciting Press trip programme was created with the aim of positioning Poland as the go-to alternative destination for UK holidaymakers.
The positive 2018 results have resulted in further investment into the Polish tourism sector, with new daily flights from London City to Warsaw in 2019 along with over 13 new hotels scheduled to open this year, with more to follow.
Iwona Bialobrzycka, Director at the Polish Tourism Organisation, is delighted with the continued increase in visitors from the UK, saying: “We are truly delighted that for the second consecutive year, British tourists were amongst the top three visitors to Poland in 2018. It shows that our country has become quite a popular holiday destination and the image of Poland has changed over the last years.
“Poland is getting to be recognised not only for its complicated history but also as a place where you can spend a lovely holiday. Whether you are into culture or nature you will find in Poland places which suit you perfectly.”
Trips count unique visitors to a destination, while stays count all visits.
