After two disappointing years (international tourist arrivals fell by 13.5% in 2008 and more than 8% in 2009), Poland’s tourism showed a satisfactory recovery in the first nine months of 2010 ‑ of +4.5%. Detailed trends were not available prior to ITB for the months of October through December but, if the January through September growth continued, the total arrivals count would have been around 12.4 million, maintaining Poland’s position in 19th place in the World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO’s) world ranking. The trend in receipts was less impressive, more or less stagnating at -0.5% (in local currency terms) over the first nine months of last year. This also followed declines ‑ albeit rather more modest ones than in 2008 and 2009 ‑ of months -3% and -1% respectively.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) expects the Travel & Tourism industry to account directly for 2% of Poland’s GDP ‑ or PLN 30.7 billion ‑ in 2011. But if its indirect and induced impacts are taken into account, its total contribution is projected at over 5%, or PLN 78.8 billion, and this is forecast to rise to 6.3% by 2021.
Visitor exports, meanwhile (receipts including spending on transport in the country) are projected by WTTC / Oxford Economics to grow by 6% per annum over the next decade.
