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 2024 –– 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, ending the eight-year rule of the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party.

The year 2024 witnessed a series of elections at various levels, including local government and European Parliament elections. These events marked the first year of governance under Tusk’s leadership.

Poland’s upcoming presidential election, scheduled for May 2025, is anticipated to serve as a referendum on the current government’s policies, with candidates from various parties vying for the presidency.

Poland’s economy is projected to grow by approximately 3.4%, driven by strong private consumption and investment in 2025. The labor market remains robust, with unemployment rates staying below 5.5% throughout the year. Inflation is expected to decline to around 4%, contributing to a more favorable economic environment. The government plans to utilize EU recovery funds to bolster the defense sector, allocating up to 20 billion zlotys to enhance local arms industries.

Additionally, significant investments are anticipated in critical sectors such as defense, green energy, IT, and transport infrastructure, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk expecting an influx exceeding 650 billion zlotys ($160 billion) in 2025.

In 2025, Poland’s travel and tourism industry is projected to generate approximately $9.7 billion in revenue, reflecting a robust recovery and consistent expansion.

Switzerland remains a popular travel destination for Polish people during all seasons of the year, continually beating overnight statistics from the year before and also from 2019 and earlier.

We are continuing to work very closely with tour operators and travel agencies, in particular with roughly a dozen of them who added Switzerland to their portfolios during the pandemic. Especially small tour operators are an engine of growth in the Polish travel industry.

The MICE sector – especially for high-end-customers – plays a increasingly more important role  

SWISS basically returned to pre-pandemic flight connections between Poland and Switzerland with two-three flights daily Warsaw-Zurich, three per week between Wroclaw and Zurich, six weekly from Krakow to Zurich, as well as a connection twice a week from Gdansk to Zurich (summer, planned extension for winter).  

The Polish airline LOT also connects Zurich and Geneva with Warsaw (twice a day). WizzAir has a three times a week-flight connection between Warsaw and Basel adding new connection Krakow Basel in 2025.

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.