Market – Poland

The team of 2 members based in Warsaw, Poland, office within the Swiss Embassy.

Campaigning and Activation, Trade, Media

Display content aboutCampaigning and Activation, Trade, Media

	Adriana Czupryn, Market Manager
Contact	+48 606 717 234 adriana.czupryn@switzerland.com

	Marta Piechota, Web&Marketing
Contact LinkedIn	+48 696 003 050 marta.piechota@switzerland.com www.linkedin.com

• ST market research page –– here
• ST Research Report 2025 –– Download here
• ST TMS 2023 –– Download here

Click here for an overview slide for each finalized activity in the current year. ((Will follow))

In December 2023, a new coalition government led by Prime Minister Donald Tusk was sworn in, bringing to an end eight years of rule by the conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party following the parliamentary elections.

The years 2024 and 2025 were marked by intense political activity. Elections to the European Parliament were held, alongside other key votes, while 2025 was dominated by the presidential election campaign.

In the presidential elections held in May and June 2025, the right-wing candidate Karol Nawrocki, supported by PiS, won unexpectedly in the second round with 50.89% of the vote, defeating the governing coalition’s candidate, Rafał Trzaskowski.

His inauguration in August 2025 opened a new chapter in Polish politics, characterized by cohabitation between a conservative president and Tusk’s liberal-centrist coalition government. This new political arrangement has led to frequent conflicts in parliament and has made the passage of key reforms more difficult.

The year 2026 is expected to be a period of relative electoral calm ahead of the next major political showdown in 2027, when the next parliamentary elections are scheduled. Observers note that despite the presidential defeat, Tusk’s government has managed to stabilize its position in opinion polls, and the balance of political power appears more even than previously anticipated.

Poland’s economy is expected to maintain solid momentum in 2026, with GDP growth projected at around 3–3.5%, supported by continued growth in private consumption and sustained public and private investment. The labor market remains resilient, with unemployment forecast to stay below 6%, reflecting strong demand for workers across key sectors.

Inflation is gradually easing, moving closer to the central bank’s target range, which is improving household purchasing power and stabilizing the broader economic environment. Fiscal policy remains expansionary, with the government continuing to channel EU recovery and cohesion funds into strategic areas of the economy.

Significant investment is planned in defense, renewable energy, digital transformation, and transport infrastructure. The government intends to further strengthen domestic arms production and security capabilities, while also accelerating green energy projects and large-scale infrastructure upgrades. Overall investment inflows are expected to remain high, reinforcing Poland’s position as one of the fastest-growing economies in the European Union.

In 2026, Poland’s travel and tourism industry is expected to continue its steady growth trajectory, building on the strong post-pandemic recovery seen in previous years. Revenues are projected to remain at a high level, supported by rising outbound travel demand, improving consumer confidence, and sustained interest in premium travel experiences.

Switzerland continues to be a highly attractive destination for Polish travelers throughout the year, consistently outperforming pre-pandemic overnight figures. Demand is driven by a mix of leisure tourism, city breaks, nature-focused travel, and luxury offerings, with year-round appeal across different customer segments.

Close cooperation with tour operators and travel agencies remains a key growth factor. Collaboration has intensified particularly with smaller and mid-sized tour operators, many of which added Switzerland to their portfolios during or shortly after the pandemic. These agile operators continue to act as an important engine of growth within the Polish outbound travel market.

The MICE sector, especially in the high-end and incentive travel segment, is playing an increasingly significant role. Demand for premium meetings, conferences, and incentive trips to Switzerland is rising, driven by corporate clients seeking high-quality infrastructure, sustainability, and exclusivity.

Air connectivity between Poland and Switzerland remains strong. SWISS has largely maintained pre-pandemic flight frequencies, offering multiple daily connections between Warsaw and Zurich, regular services from Kraków and Wrocław to Zurich, and seasonal routes from Gdańsk to Zurich, with further extensions under consideration.

The Polish national carrier LOT continues to operate frequent daily flights between Warsaw and Zurich as well as Geneva, ensuring excellent connectivity for both leisure and business travelers. Wizz Air complements the network with services between Warsaw and Basel, alongside its newer Kraków–Basel connection, further expanding low-cost travel options between the two countries.

Swiss International Airlines will start a new connection Zurich – Poznan in March 2026, 3 times a week. It’s a fifth destination of SWISS in Poland.

Poles tend to plan their travels individually. They like to travel with their own car or – as a rather new development – with a camper, caravan or camping bus.

The overall trend goes in the direction of shorter but more frequent travels – a development that has been even more strengthened by the period of high inflation in 2022 and the first half of 2023.

This doesn´t mean, though, that the people are spending less money on their foreign travels. While there are no full statistics yet for the whole year, the Polish Chamber of Tourism reports that right from the beginning of 2023, the number of reservations of trips through travel agencies have been positively surprising.

Trends highlight a growing inclination among Polish travelers towards international leisure travel, with a focus on quality accommodations, cost-effectiveness, and enriching experiences.

The most popular summer vacation destinations were Turkey, Greece, Egypt, Bulgaria, Tunisia, Spain, Cyprus and Albania, followed by Italy and Croatia.

According to the Tourism Chamber, most travellers made the reservation for their trips more than 3 months in advance. While most Polish people travel during the vacation months of July and August, there has been a clear and observable trend for travelling in September.

While making reservations abroad, Poles overwhelmingly chose 4 or 5 star hotels. Therefore, campaigns like „Swisstainable“ are being received positively. The most popular travel duration was 7 to 8 days. The average spending level on a vacation travel stood at roughly 8700 PLN (1870 CHF).

The share of young travellers, who prefer shorter but more frequent trips (for example city breaks), is especially high in Poland. Interestingly, a new study of consumer confidence at the beginning of 2025 found that optimism about their own financial future among younger Poles is surprisingly high, including the willingness to spend more in the upcoming year.

Around 5 million Poles claim to like skiing and/or snowboarding. The number of bicycle enthusiasts is also quite high.

In Poland, most travels take place during the summer vacations that last 9 weeks from the end of June till the beginning of September. After that, there are no school vacations until the Christmas break and then two weeks of winter/ski holidays in January and/or February (differing according to the region). There is also a short Easter break. The special position in the travel calendar has “long May weekend” – May 1^st and 3^rd are bank holiday.

The Polish market focuses primarily on the personas Max and Pat. Find more information about the personas here.