Poland an increasingly attractive travel destination – tourist org.

Poland is becoming a top tourist destination for Poles, as well as for tourists from abroad, said President of the Polish Tourist Organisation Robert Andrzejczyk in an interview with PAP.

The number of tourists in Poland, who benefitted from accommodation during the period January – May, increased by more than 704,000 to 12.5 million from 11.8 million during the same period last year, according to data from the Central Statistical Office (GUS). This was an increase of 6 percent.

GUS reported that during the first five months of this year, 9.9 million tourists used accommodation facilities in Poland which had more than 10 beds. Of these tourists, 7.7 million were domestic guests and 2.4 million were foreign guests. Last year, these figures were 9.3 million, 7.1 million and 2.2 million, respectively.

"One can say that Poland is becoming attractive for both, Poles and foreign tourists," said Andrzejczyk. In his opinion, a general increase in the affluence of Poles, as well as developed social programmes have had a positive impact on domestic tourism.

Andrzejczyk also said that, abroad, Poland is seen as a safe and attractive country for tourism offering high-quality services at affordable prices. He noted that Poland had recently been listed among the top 10 travel destinations by Lonely Planet, the world's largest publisher of travel guidebooks.

He added that among the most frequently visited sites by foreign tourists are those included on the UNESCO World Heritage List. He pointed out that Poland has 16 such sites and, in this regard, holds the eighth position in Europe.

The rise in tourists is also influenced by the increasingly diversified music, sports and culinary 'events' taking place in Poland, he noted.

GUS figures also reveal that in the first five months of this year, the greatest number of foreign tourists using accommodation came to Poland from Germany, Great Britain and Ukraine.