2016-08-18 15:25 update: 2018-09-27, 02:35
Turyści na szlaku na Giewont Fot. PAP/Grzegorz Momot
Poland's domestic tourist traffic has intensified this summer, both in the country's mountains and at the sea, according to the Polish Chamber of Tourism (PIT) experts. A recovery in domestic tourism might be visible in the third quarter GDP data.
Poland's picturesque mountain range Pieniny has seen increased tourist traffic this summer, with demand for rafting on the River Dunajec, one of Pieniny's biggest attractions, expected to be 20 percent bigger than last year, PAP was told by Jan Sienkiewicz, deputy chairman of the PIT's Malopolska Branch.
The region's infrastructure is well prepared to accept more tourists, according to Sienkiewicz, who also said that World Youth Day held in late July in and around Krakow helped attract more visitors to the region.
Remigiusz Drozdz, chairman of the PIT's Pomorskie Branch, has confirmed increased tourist traffic at the Baltic Sea, quoting unofficial estimates pointing to a 20 percent growth, despite worse weather conditions than last year. He is also convinced that the region is well-prepared to absorb higher tourist traffic.
"The tourist industry is one of the biggest employers in Poland. According to our estimates, some 28,000 people work in the industry in the Pomorskie province," Drozdz also said.
Poland's Societe Generale chief economist Jaroslaw Janecki believes that the growth in the tourist industry will filter through to the general economic data as services make a meaningful contribution to the GDP.
This contribution will also mean higher earnings of tourist companies and more money staying in the country as Poles have started to prefer domestic holidays to foreign vacations. This may translate into an additional 0.1 to 0.2 percentage point to the GDP in the third quarter, according to Janecki.
The Central Statistical Office is to publish its flash estimate of Poland's third quarter GDP growth in mid-November. (PAP)
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