Creating the image of rural areas as a tourism market offering diverse and year-round highlights plus reaching foreign tourists with the discussed offer – these are the main goals of the “Relax in the countryside” campaign conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Its inaugural conference was attended by, i.a. Dariusz Rogowski, Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, Rafał Romanowski, Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Agriculture, and Robert Andrzejczyk, President of Polish Tourism Organisation.

The campaign promoting rural tourism and agritourism was launched at the Central Agricultural Library in Warsaw. Staged by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the inaugural conference was attended by, i.a. Dariusz Rogowski, Undersecretary of State of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, Robert Andrzejczyk, President of Polish Tourism Organisation (Polska Organizacja Turystyczna - POT), as well as Jacek Janowski, Head of the Department for Tourism Product and Regional Cooperation. The speeches emphasised the significance of rural tourism and the wide range of opportunities for promoting this particular branch. Attention was also drawn to the challenges and chances faced by entities involved in the promotion of leisure in the countryside. Finally, conference participants recognised the need to diversify and introduce innovative solutions into the offer of tourism products.

“Rural tourism is an essential area of tourism in general and a major market trend. What is more, it is an attractive Polish tourism product. The Polish countryside draws with, i.a. its tourism-related diversity and openness”, claimed Dariusz Rogowski, who went on to stress the ongoing need for competitiveness and reaching the largest possible group of recipients of tourism services and products.

Robert Andrzejczyk, President of POT, also spoke in a similar tone, noting that tourism in rural areas provides an opportunity to include them in the economic mainstream. He also accentuated that the introduction of innovative products constitutes one of the difficulties faced by everyone involved in the promotion of rural tourism. “The challenges that arise involve the introduction of innovative products and the implementation of modern management and promotional methods”, argued Andrzejczyk.

It is worth nothing that in 2018 “Relax in the countryside” will see Polish Tourism Organisation teaming up with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to carry out promotional activities, i.a. at travel trade shows held abroad, ITB in Berlin, Seniormassan in Stockholm and WTM in London.