2020 was unquestionably the most difficult year in the history of Polish tourism, especially for businesses operating in so-called city tourism and MICE sector. However, the dramatic and tumultuous period did feature several positive aspects, including Warsaw announcing its Tourism Policy.

Establishing a clear and long-term vision of the industry’s development, the document in question closely connects it with other areas of economic, cultural and social life. This strategy identifies Warsaw Tourism Organisation (Warszawska Organizacja Turystyczna - WOT) as a crucial stakeholder responsible for developing the capital’s tourism product in close cooperation with local entrepreneurs.

A public-private association co-founded by the Capital City of Warsaw, Warsaw Tourism Organisation associates 116 tourism businesses operating in the city, including tourism organisers, hotels, conference venues, cultural institutions and restaurants. The list of Warsaw Tourism Organisation’s key objectives includes applying its Warsaw Convention Bureau unit to secure international congresses and conferences and promoting Warsaw’s tourism.

Confirming WOT’s role in implementing the Tourism Policy’s provisions, Warsaw Municipality decided to support members of the association by exempting them from the obligation to pay the 2021 membership fee.

The capital’s potential as regards administration, infrastructure (relating to transportation, conferences, accommodation, food and drink industry) and business (with Warsaw hosting headquarters of domestic corporations, headquarters or regional branches of transnational corporations, as well as highly specialised business services) is conducive to the development of its business tourism sector.

Starting with early 2021, Warsaw Convention Bureau launched a brand-new social media campaign focused on continuous presentation of information sustaining interest in the discussed destination and Warsaw Tourism Organisation’s offer in the context of inquiries for 2021-2022.

The English-language campaign is run on facebook.com/WarsawConventionBureau/

Successive posts will be published in accordance with a pre-established schedule encompassing the offer of all WOT members. The presented content was divided into five thematic areas:

• “Did you know that…?” - general information and interesting facts about Warsaw (from the viewpoint of the MICE market) - Mondays;
• “Venues & hotels” - a presentation of conference venues and hotels - Tuesdays;  
• “Choose your local partner!” - a presentation of PCOs/DMCs and MICE service providers - Wednesdays;  
• “Enrich your social program!” - unique venues, highlights and other proposals of making event programs more attractive - Thursdays;  
• “Take a look” - virtual tours, posts linking to conference venues and cultural institutions that can be explored from home - Fridays.  

The content in question will be adapted to the current situation and introduced/lifted restrictions. Make sure to stay up to date with the latest Warsaw Convention Bureau posts and share them with your business partners.