Poland expects tourist growth in 2011

Not only Spain, Greece and Turkey are making plans for tourist traffic, which is expected to spill over into these Mediterranean countries from troubled Egypt and Tunisia. Poland, more precisely, Polish resorts on the Baltic Sea, are also preparing to host part of this "tourist pie". But, prospects of Poland’s share still remains modest.

In 2011, as it is expected, Poland will visit nearly 13 million people. This amount of tourists is planned by the Polish Institute of Tourism. In 2010, the number of tourists visiting Poland is amounted to 12.5 million people, according to the Warsaw Business Journal.

As noted in the Institute’s report, the expected growth is still far from extra successful 2007, when Poland was visited by 16 million people. However, in comparison with the "terrible" 2009, these figures do not look so bad.

Domestic tourism, as it is estimated by the Polish experts, will bring in 2011 11.3 billion dollars, which is by 1.1 billion more than last year.
The biggest amateurs of Poland for several years continue to be Germans. They make trips to Poland more often than the second mass group of tourists - Russians. Russians are followed by Belarusians and Ukrainians.

Despite the fact that Poland does not expect the wave of interest to the country, the authorities are counting on the Poles, who prefer the Polish Baltic to hot Mediterranean. Such beach resorts of Poland as Sopot, Gdynia, Swinoujscie, remain traditionally popular among Poles for summer vacations.

Anyway, according to a number of professional players of the Polish tourist market, in particular, representatives of the Polish Prestige Hotels & Resorts group, demand for Poland is still awaits its finest hour. For Poland, it will be 2012, when the country along with Ukraine for the first time in its history will host the European Football Championship.