Polish seaside more expensive than Adriatic this year - analyst

A night's stay on Poland's Baltic coast is more expensive than visiting the Adriatic this year due to a short holiday season and limited accommodation places, an analyst from the Polish Economic Institute (PIE) has told PAP.

Paula Kukolowicz of PIE's strategy team added that the costs of travelling to the Polish coast and eating out remain lower.

"Generally speaking, the prices of stays on the Polish coast are higher than in many Mediterranean resorts," Kukolowicz said. "But with the proviso, however, that much depends on the quality of accommodation. Cheap accommodation can also be found on the Polish coast in peak season - but quite far from the beach and not of very high standard."

She explained that the high prices result primarily from the short vacation season and the small geographical area in which tourist traffic is concentrated.

"The first factor means that the annual income of people offering accommodation services is limited to about three months a year when they can count on full occupancy. Hence the tendency to offer high prices."

Kukolowicz added that the second factor is that interest in Polish coastal holidays remains high domestically, resulting in high demand which is not matched by high supply due to the small area in which tourism is focused.

"As a result, high accommodation prices are accepted by consumers, who, while paying more for accommodation, pay less for travel and food," she said.