Tourists avoid Poland, considered too exposed to the war in Ukraine

Damian carefully replaces the amber jewelry displayed on his stand inside Krakow’s Cloth Hall. Like the fifty vendors housed under the vaults of this jewel of Renaissance architecture, this Krakow tries to attract onlookers. If 14 million travelers, including 3.3 million foreigners, had visited the most touristic of Polish cities in 2019, foreign tourists are now shying away from Poland for its geographical proximity to its neighbor at war.

“We thought we would finally see the light at the end of the tunnel in 2022, after two years of pandemic [de Covid-19] and health restrictions. The season was looking promising. But since the war in Ukraine, tourists have largely disappeared. We have a lot fewer customers, while inflation is raging and everything we buy costs more,” explains Damian, concerned about his turnover. Same question for Jacek (first name changed), a groom who usually takes tourists by horse-drawn carriage to Wawel Castle from the Rynek, one of the largest squares in Europe.

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“I would say there are up to 70% fewer tourists than before the pandemic at the same time of the year”, he laments. Opposite, at the corner of the Basilica of Saint Mary, a rare tourist guide speaks in Spanish to about ten people. And under the Cloth Hall, Frazer Ashkam, an Englishman who came to spend a weekend with friends in Krakow, hesitates to buy a souvenir.

“Day-to-day decision”

Did he have an ulterior motive before flying to Poland? “We had already booked everything, and then Poland is in NATO. But it’s true that my mother-in-law and my wife tried to discourage me from coming: they said that everything would be closed, that it’s the country right next to Ukraine… Our host communicated with us at length to reassure us and that finished convincing us”, specifies the British tourist.

“People think you can hear the shots all the way here or they have the Syrian refugee camps in mind. But that’s not what you see at all” Jacek Legendziewicz, hotel owner

The Krakow Chamber of Tourism published the results of a survey of tourism players in the region at the end of March: 88% of them suffered from massive cancellations of the services offered. And it is the French who prance at the top of the withdrawals, followed closely by the Americans and the Canadians. A figure that reaches almost 100% for organized groups normally hosted by Jacek Legendziewicz, owner of the Jordan group, including several hotels in Krakow.

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