The New York-based office of Polish Tourism Organisation took part in Global Travel Marketplace industry workshops staged by Northstar Travel Media, owner of Travel Weekly in the U.S.

Global Travel Marketplace is among the key events of major significance for the contemporary growth tendencies of the tourism sector across the ocean. It is an invitation-only meeting aimed at tour operators and top service suppliers representing the U.S. market of travel bureaus. During the three-day workshops held on 12-15 July the team of Polish Tourism Organisation (Polska Organizacja Turystyczna - POT) took part in more than 50 meetings with travel agents and consultants.

“By attending this type of events you get an opportunity to establish a direct contact with tour operators, whose offer includes trips to Poland or who are planning to expand their portfolio of services by adding the highlights of our country. In addition, it constitutes a form of collecting information about the trends, interests and expectations of the discussed market”, said Anna Cichońska, Director of POT’s New York office. She went on to emphasize that many U.S travel agents are exploring Poland’s inbound offer with great interest, frequently inspired by concrete questions posed by customers. “Poland is an upcoming destination”, the oft-heard opinion of tour operators certainly has an encouraging sound to it and testifies to the growing popularity of Polish incoming offers.

In addition to general information about programme agendas, American tour operators and travel advisors most frequently request data on conditions required for popular active tourism forms, as well as the possibility of arranging family and social events and reunions, e.g. anniversary parties, in historical venues, castles and palaces.

An additional factor inspiring U.S. travel agencies to actively recommend trips to Poland to their customers involves the now significantly more comfortable travelling conditions for American visitors. This is a result of the increased number of direct flights from the U.S. to Poland’s airports and the expanded network of international flights handled by PLL LOT, giving tourists a chance to tour several countries when flying with the Polish national airlines.

Global Travel Marketplace inaugurated a series of summer thematic industry meetings that the POT office in New York is planning to become attend. At the Going on Faith conference the POT team will be attending meetings with organizers of faith tourism groups. Virtuoso Travel Week will provide an opportunity to showcase the high points of our country to advisors and service suppliers specializing in the offer of luxury travel. ASTA Global Convention was picked due to its announced forum programme encompassing a wide range of topics related to travel bureau operations, staff management, sales tactics and legal aspects. The brought up issues and scheduled discussions guarantee impressive attendance figures among specialists of many areas representing the tourism industry.