Minister of Sport and Tourism Kamil Bortniczuk has appointed Rafał Szmytke as the new President of the Polish Tourism Organisation. The decision was accepted unanimously by the positive opinion of the PTO Council.

Rafał Szmytke won the competition for the position of President of the Polish Tourism Organisation, accepting the nomination from Minister of Sport and Tourism Kamil Bortniczuk on 1 April 2022. His candidacy had been positively appraised by the PTO Council, with 14 votes for the recommendation and none against.   

Rafał Szmytke previously worked with the Polish Tourism Organisation, during the years 2001-2016, from 2008 to 2016 as its president. He is a graduate of the University of Physical Education in Warsaw and of the Faculty of Law and Administration at the University of Warsaw, as well as having an MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management.

His professional life has been almost entirely involved in tourism. He has worked as Hotel Project Manager at the Polski Holding Nieruchomości real estate group, as well as chairing the supervisory boards of the Polish Tourism Development Agency and the Centre for Tourism Education, while also acting as plenipotentiary of the Minister of the State Treasury at the Institute of Tourism.

Rafał gained his management experience working at various posts in the Office of Physical Culture and Tourism, at the Ministry of Health, and as an academic staff member at the University of Physical Education in Warsaw. Most recently, he worked as the Prorector of the Vistula School of Hospitality in Warsaw. 

Rafał is committed to tourism not only in its professional aspect, but also as a social phenomenon. He is among other things the co-organiser of the national Palmira Rally and has chaired the Sports Survival and Exploration Centre. He is the author of numerous publications on qualified and adventure tourism.

Mr. Szmytke is a sports instructor as well, training in athletics, swimming, judo, survival, sport shooting, and self-defence. He is a licenced yacht captain, paraglider pilot, and 2^nd degree CMAS and PADI diver.