The outbound tourism in Poland reported a record-breaking summer season. A recent study by the Polish Association of Tour Operators revealed that trip sales increased by 12.5 percent.
According to Andrzej Betlej, president of Traveldata, a Tourist Market Research, there are good chances the trend of growing sales will continue in the coming weeks. He explained that the increase in outbound tourism among Poles is caused by the improved economy – the household incomes are going up and the unemployment rate is going down.
“If we look at the revenues of travel agencies and airlines we can see that this year we had a record-breaking holiday season in Poland." Traveldata analyzed the sales of tours by the travel agency Wakacje to Spain, Bulgaria, Greece, Egypt and Turkey.
The findings show for example that in August more tours to Turkey were booked by Polish tourists than in the previous months.
“Despite the airport attack on June 28 and the July 15 failed military coup, the holiday sales for Turkey grew. It is possible that the repressions against the coup organizers improved the perception of Turkey as a place of safety among Poles. Another factor could be the restoration of the Russian tourist traffic to Turkey,” said Betlej.
However, he added that the increase of outbound tourism to Turkey may be partly the result of the last year's drop in sales (lower base). The same can be seen in the case of Egypt.
Domestic tourism is also going up, according to the Polish Chamber of Tourism, which states that the growing network of highways in the country makes it easier for locals to explore domestic destinations. Safety is another reason why many Poles choose to holiday in their own country.
"For now, Poland is a safe country. Security is one of the main criteria when choosing a destination,” said Remigiusz Dróżdż, head of the Chamber’s branch in Pomerania. He explained that thanks to the new motorways the number of short-stays among Polish travelers increased. The coast and the mountains are currently most popular among domestic tourists. According to Dróżdż, it is estimated that over the summer the northern Baltic Sea coast saw up to 20-percent increase in tourism.