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Poland

Polish flag for market profile
Poland

Visitor characteristics

  • Almost all business visitors are male but Britain attracts more female than male leisure visitors
  • 49% of Polish visitor spend comes courtesy of visits to friends and/or relatives, 30% from business visits
  • Only 46% of holiday visitors are making a repeat visit to Britain (excluding British nationals)
  • 98% of visitors from Poland are either 'likely' or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Britain for a holiday or short-break

Popular activities

Sightseeing of Famous Buildings/ Monuments

Visited a Pub

Went Shopping

Global context

Measure2018
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)9.7
Global rank for international tourism expenditure35
Number of outbound visits (m)18.1
Most visited destinationUnited Kingdom

Key demographic and economic data

Measure2018
Population (m)38.0
GDP per capita PPP (US$)27,846
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)3.4
Annual average GDP growth in the past year (%)5.3
Map of Poland for market profiles

Resources

Poland Market Profile (PDF, 0.97MB)

visitbritain_marketprofile_poland.pdf

Read about the preferences of Europeans towards tourism (PDF, 1.65 MB, Published March 2015)

2015-3 Preferences of Europeans towards tourism_25.pdf

Find out where visitors from Poland to the UK reside in their own country (Excel, 212KB, Published 2018)

annual_states_of_residence_2018_for_web.xlsx

Exchange rate

1 GBP = 5.0997 PLN

As of 14 February 2020

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from Poland

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Number of visits

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Total expenditure (GBP)

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Total nights spent

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Average spend per visit (GBP)

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What the Polish think about Britain

  • Poles have a positive view of the UK raknking it overall second out of fifty nations in 2019.
  • Their most positive perceptions are in relation to 'contemporary culture', 'culture' in general, 'vibrant city life', 'sports', 'cultural heritage', and 'historic buildings', but areas of comparative weakness include perceptions of 'welcome' and of the UK's 'scenic natural beauty' 
  • The UK is strongly associated with music, films, and museums
  • Although many Poles see Britain as having a strong culture and heritage offering, this is equally true of their view of France and Italy
  • Activities that appeal to potential Polish visitors include 'riding the scenic 'Hogwarts Express' (Harry Potter train) through the Scottish Highlands', 'enjoying a traditional afternoon tea', 'driving through the countryside of England', 'visiting Madame Tussauds', and 'going hiking on the South West coast'

Caring for visitors

 

  • Visitors appreciate information being available in their own language
  • British food is not a major draw for Poles, but British pubs are popular
  • Ownership of credit cards is relatively low compared with Western Europe and many Poles prefer to pay with cash
  • Around 65% of individual Polish travellers book 3-star hotels, B&Bs or hostels, although they usually book 4-5 star accommodation when on package tours

 

The leisure & travel trade

  • The Polish tourism market is dominated by many small businesses
  • The large tour operators research their main programmes between February and April
  • If you commit to the Polish market, you will need to visit your contacts at least once or twice a year

Access to Britain from Poland

Measure2018
Weekly aircraft departures454
Weekly seat capacity85,805
Airports with direct routes in Poland13
Airports with direct routes in Britain19
  • 59% of all visits to Britain were by air in 2017
  • 640,000 of the annual 1.8 million visits from Poland are by those driving a lorry to/from Britain
  • There are direct air routes from thirteen airports in Poland to many airports right across Britain although Stansted and Luton attract the most seats
  • Around half of seats are flown by Ryanair with under one third flown by Wizz Air

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