This report covers market developments for Polish tourism in 2013 and the data available as of April 2014.

The Polish tourism industry continued growing in 2013 and the sector’s annual performance in most segments looks encouraging considering the high base comparison (i.e. record year in 2012, driven by the EURO 2012 soccer championship). The total contribution of the travel and tourism sector to the GDP also increased by 0.3pps year on year to 5.3%, or PLN 85.7bn (EUR 20.4bn) in 2013, according to estimates of the World Travel & Tourism Council.

Domestic and foreign tourist arrivals continued on upward path in 2013. The number of foreign tourists visiting Poland in 2013 increased by 6.8% year on year in 2013, while the total revenues generated by the incoming tourists advanced by 11.5% year on year. The number of domestic trips increased by 4.8% year on year last year, (unsurprisingly) decelerating from the 36.8% year on year surge in 2012, but still by 43.4% above 2011 level and by 25.2% higher than in 2010.

Prospects for the tourism sector in the coming years remain optimistic. According to our QuERI forecasts, the real market demand for the selected tourism services (hotels, restaurants, travel arrangements, recreational services) is projected to increase by 1.7% year on year in 2014 (in mn 1995 USD) and further 2.9% year on year in 2015.

Key points:

• Tourism industry performance in 2013 is higher than record year 2012
• M&A activity dynamics on hotel market accelerates in Q4/2013
• Restaurant market stagnates year on year in 2013, but fast food segment expected to improve significantly this year
• Health tourism keeps up momentum, future outlook is encouraging