At the turn of April Polish Tourism Organisation inaugurated the “We are waiting for you!” competition designed to continue spontaneous campaigns (e.g. #Lubelskiepoczeka or #MiastoPoczeka) launched by local organisations to assure tourists that respective cities and regions await their return when it once again becomes safe to travel. “We are waiting for you!” was born from Polish Tourist Organisation’s intention to support tourism products.

Polish Tourism Organisation (Polska Organizacja Turystyczna - POT) decided to stage the “We are waiting for you!” competition as a reminder about Poland’s numerous highly attractive tourism products eager to again host visitors. Teams behind the involved products were asked to prepare short videos applying various attention-grabbing ways to encourage Polish viewers to come visit. “We are waiting for you!” or “Looking forward to seeing you soon” were meant as the leitmotif of the materials, with #CzekamyNaWas (#WaitingForYou), #DoZobaczeniaWkrótce (#SeeYouSoon) and #OdpoczywajwPolsce (#RestInPoland) as the expected hashtags.

“The Polish travel industry is now starting slow recovery, with hotels and accommodation opening on 4 May. It is only a question of time until tourists will be able to visit all of the discussed must-sees. The campaign is intended to remind them about the numerous intriguing places waiting to be discovered and to encourage them to start planning their trips”, said Robert Andrzejczyk, President of Polish Tourism Organisation.

The competition’s jury distinguished 5 out of 50 submitted videos:

• ISTEBNA
• HEVELIANUM
• COPERNICUS SCIENCE CENTRE
• DAIRY TRADITION CENTRE, MUSEUM OF MILK IN GRAJEWO
• KIELCE COUNTRYSIDE MUSEUM, ETHNOGRAPHIC PARK IN TOKARNIA

Already today some of the laureates are available to the general public. The village of Istebna (Śląskie voivodeship) awaits visitors, as do the staff of the Grajewo-based Museum of Milk. The competition was open to products distinguished by POT’s certificate for Best Tourism Products or by the European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN) title promoting sustainable tourism. Winners of the Polish Tourism Brands project and the “There Is No Place Like the Countryside - 12 Good Practices of Rural Tourism” competition were also eligible.

The main award involves a promotional campaign presenting select videos via social media profiles of Polish Tourism Organisation (Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and Twitter) and www.polska.travel and www.pot.gov.pl websites. In the next stage the videos will also be promoted in international markets included in Polish Tourism Organisation’s scope of operations.