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{{see also|List of World Heritage Sites in Poland}} {{see also|List of World Heritage Sites in Poland}}

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Revision as of 04:18, 5 June 2013

Poland's most popular destinationsDolina Gąsienicowa in the High TatrasEuropean bison at Białowieża Forest UNESCO World Heritage Site and Biosphere ReserveRoyal palace at Wawel, view from the Vistula riverTown Hall in Wrocław in the Market SquareProject Riese, Owl Mountains in the SudetesAuschwitz concentration campMalbork Castle in Malbork, northern PolandDunajec River Gorge, UNESCO's Tentative List of World Heritage SitesJasna Góra Monastery Basilica, most popular with religious tourism of PolandAugustów Canal kayaking in Augustów
Barbican in Warsaw's Old Town
Baltic beaches of the Gdańsk Bay

Poland is a part of the global tourism market with constantly increasing number of visitors. Tourism in Poland contributes to the country's overall economy. The most popular cities are Warsaw, Kraków, Poznań, Wrocław, Gdańsk, Lublin, Toruń and the historic site of Auschwitz - German nazi concentration camp in Oświęcim. The best recreational destinations include Poland's Masurian Lake District, Baltic Sea coast, Tatra Mountains (the highest mountain range of Carpathians), Sudetes and Białowieża Forest. Poland's main tourist offers consist of sightseeing within cities and out-of-town historical monuments, business trips, qualified tourism, agrotourism, mountain hiking (trekking) and climbing among others. Poland is the 19th most visited country in the world by foreign tourists (just below Canada), as ranked by World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in 2010–2011.

History

The first Polish tourists were pilgrims traveling to shrines both within Poland and abroad. The development of commercial tourism began in the 19th century. The most popular regions were mountains, especially the Tatra Mountains, explored for example by Tytus Chałubiński. In 1873 the Polish Tatra Society and in 1909 the Polish Sightseeing Society were established to organize and develop tourism. The 19th century was also the time of the rapid appearance of spa resorts, mostly in Sudetes, Beskids and along the Baltic Sea coast, with some of them associated, since 1910, with the Polish Balneology Association. After Poland regained independence in 1918, Polish tourism boomed, and was encouraged by the government. The first professional Polish tour operator, Orbis, was founded in Lwów in 1923, followed in 1937 by Gromada tourist organization and tour operator.

After World War II all tourist organizations were nationalized by the new communist government. The Polish Tatra Society and Polish Sightseeing Society were combined into Polish Tourism-Sightseeing Society (PTTK) and most of the tourist infrastructure was handed over to the newly-created Workers Vacations Fund (FWP). Tourism was limited to the Comecon countries. This was the era of governmentally-founded tourism, characterised by mass but low-standard tourism. A typical sight was a holiday campground with small bungalows managed by one of the state-owned companies. Holidays for children and teenagers were organized by Juventur. After the fall of communism much of the infrastructure was privatized, although many company-owned resorts were downgraded because of their unprofitability. The early 1990s saw the foundation of many new tour operators. Some of them prevailed and strengthened their position on the market, being able to compete with multinational tour operators like TUI, or Neckermann und Reisen with branches in Poland.

Tourist attractions of Poland

Poland, especially after 1989 and joining of the European Union in 2004, became a place frequently visited by tourists. Most tourist attractions in Poland are connected with natural environment, historic sites and cultural events. They draw millions of tourists every year from all around the world. According to Tourist Institute's data, Poland was visited by 15.7 million tourists in 2006, and by 15 million tourists in 2007, out of the total number of 66.2 million foreign visitors. In 2012, Poland was visited by 13.5 million foreign tourists (those who came during Euro 2012, but did not stay overnight, were not included in official statistics).

Natural environment

See also: List of national parks of Poland

Poland has a diversified natural environment, which is relatively unaffected by human development. Visitors are attracted by mountains, sea-coast, and the lake reserves. Among the most popular destinations are: Tatra Mountains, in which is the highest peak of Polish (Rysy) and the famous Orla Perć; Karkonosze, Table Mountains, Białowieża Forest, Bieszczady, Dunajec River Gorge in Pieniny, Pojezierze Mazurskie, Kampinos National Park and many others.

Tourist destinations by city

Historic buildings and places

See also: List of World Heritage Sites in Poland

Castles

See also: List of castles in Poland Main article: Trail of the Eagles' Nests

Popular villages

Cultural events

Further information: Culture of Poland

Tourist resorts

There are dozens of sea resorts on the coast of Baltic Sea like Wolin Island, located close to the German border and the coast of Pomerania. In southern Poland there are resorts for skiing and hiking in the Karkonosze mountains, which is part of the Sudetes mountain range. Karkonosze includes the touristical centres of Karpacz and Szklarska Poręba. Other famous resorts for skiing and hiking include in Carpathian Mountains: Zakopane in the Tatra mountains; Szczyrk, Krynica-Zdrój, Ustroń, Wisła in Beskides or Szczawnica and Krościenko in Pieniny mountains.

Transportation in Poland

Main article: Transportation in Poland

Since the fall of communism transportation in Poland has been improving. There is acceptable tourist infrastructure, especially in larger cities and in major tourist resorts. Most major Polish cities have airports with connecting services with the Frederic Chopin International Airport in Warsaw. Intercity travel includes the PKP's Intercity train, Przewozy Regionalne, local trains (Koleje Dolnośląskie, Szybka Kolej Miejska (Tricity), Koleje Mazowieckie, and other) and PKS's overland bus. There are also coach connections to other countries provided by various companies.

See also

References

  1. "International Tourist Arrivals by County of Destination (Poland)" (PDF file, direct download 516 KB). UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. World Tourism Organization. 2012. pp. 8 of 26. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  2. Information about tourism in Poland (in Polish). Source: Instytut Turystyki, 2008.
  3. GUS (2008). "Przyjazdy do Polski (Foreign visits to Poland)". Statistics (in Polish). Instytut Turystyki. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
  4. Katarzyna Sobierajska, Ministry of Tourism (2012). "Pierwsze efekty Euro 2012. Resort turystyki przewiduje wzrost liczby turystów w 2013 r. nawet o pół miliona". Live interview (in Polish). Agencja Informacyjna Newseria. Retrieved December 31, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

Further reading

  • Kaszynski, Tadeusz, Through Europe to Poland by Car, 1st and rev. ed., New York, 1968

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