The Ministry of Sports and Tourism estimates that German travellers account for every third of the 19.3 million foreign visitors that came to Poland in 2018. According to related data, our neighbours are increasingly interested in the Polish tourist offer.

Anna Krupka, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, declared at the trade show: “We consider Germany to be an exceptionally important inbound market. In 2018 Poland was visited by close to 6 million tourists from this country. More importantly, the time spent by our western neighbours in Poland continues to increase. Already now tours lasting from 8 to 10 days are the most popular option”.

At ITB Berlin Polish Tourism Organisation (Polska Organizacja Turystyczna - POT) for the first time introduced the advanced Polish national stand in its full glory. Avoiding more standard solutions, the new exhibition space is geared toward present-day trends and customer needs.

“The new stand project makes it possible to showcase the assets of our country in an even more attractive way. Most of all, I am happy with the opinions of exhibitors that appreciate, on the one hand, its highly functional character and, on the other hand, attractiveness and high-quality materials. The look of the stand is complemented by Tytus Brzozowski’s water colour paintings that apply a novel approach to illustrating the cities of Poland”, explains President of POT Robert Andrzejczyk.

Almost 80 exhibitors and sub-exhibitors presented the Polish tourist offer as part of the national stand of 752 m2. Poland’s promotion in Berlin focused on the leitmotifs of city tourism, active tourism and cuisine. Polish Tourism Organisation presented, i.a. the offer of Kraków, which received the title of 2019 European Capital of Gastronomic Culture. On the second day of the trade show, visitors to the Polish stand could savour Polish dishes prepared specially for this occasion by the chef of Kraków’s Pod Aniołami restaurant.

The Polish national stand concept also applied the motif of Polish apples. Baskets with fruits were available for all visitors. For the entire duration of the event, exhibitors were presenting their offer on stage. In addition, videos were shown promoting products that received the Certificates of Polish Tourism Organisation. Representatives of the multimedia centre Hydropolis were conducting experiments on stage to explain the physical and chemical properties of water. The presentations included spectacular shows applying dry ice, frozen carbon dioxide at temperature of about -80°C. The Ensemble of Pieniny Raftmen Singers entertained guests with highlander songs, while Marcin Masecki performed a piano recital on stage, including compositions from the Cold War soundtrack.

For the second time at ITB Berlin, the Polish national stand also featured a stand promoting Polish health tourism. Visitors could become familiar with the offer of Polish hospitals, clinics, health resorts and spa & wellness facilities, as well as talk with experts in the field of medical tourism. Moreover, they could take part in an oxygen therapy, join workshops on making natural cosmetics or participate in a quiz encouraging travelling to Poland. 

The inclusion of the Polish Volleyball Federation in the national stand was definitely a first time ever for the Berlin audience. The Federation not only invited foreign tourists to visit the homeland of current FIVB Volleyball Men’s World Champions, but also encouraged sports fans to come to this year’s Women’s European Volleyball Championship, which will be hosted by i.a. Łódź.

“Last year we started working with the Polish Volleyball Federation after our men’s national volleyball team became world champions for the second year in a row. We want to promote Poland as a sport-friendly country and invite tourists to numerous events. After all, the latter are an excellent opportunity not only to admire top-level games, but also to experience the exceptional atmosphere that Polish spectators are renowned for”, explains President of Polish Tourism Organisation Robert Andrzejczyk.

The first three days of the trade show were aimed at the industry, while on the weekend the halls were also open to the public. Last year, ITB attracted 170,000 visitors.