Data presented here refer only to tourist trips (in a broad sense), i.e. lasting longer than one day and not connected with searching for or doing jobs in visited countries.
The graph below shows that in 2009 the number of polish residents who had a tourist trip abroad decreased.
The number of trips also went down to 6.3 mill (see table 1).
Number of residents travelling abroad (million)
Source: surveys by the Institute of Tourism
Table 1. Tourist trips by target country (in mill.)
| year |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
| Germany |
2.80 |
2.60 |
3.60 |
2.50 |
2.65 |
2.60 |
2.30 |
1.85 |
2.75 |
1.55 |
1.90 |
1.30 |
| UK |
0.30 |
0.20 |
0.25 |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.20 |
0.30 |
0.60 |
0.85 |
0.45 |
0.50 |
| Czech Rep. |
0.90 |
0.80 |
0.60 |
0.70 |
0.70 |
0.50 |
0.55 |
0.50 |
0.55 |
0.40 |
0.65 |
0.35 |
| The Netherlands |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.30 |
0.20 |
0.45 |
0.25 |
0.15 |
0.25 |
0.55 |
0.30 |
0.35 |
0.35 |
| Italy |
0.90 |
0.80 |
1.00 |
0.60 |
0.45 |
0.55 |
0.50 |
0.55 |
0.45 |
0.35 |
0.45 |
0.65 |
| Slovakia |
0.65 |
0.50 |
0.65 |
0.80 |
0.55 |
0.50 |
0.55 |
0.50 |
0.35 |
0.45 |
0.45 |
. |
| Austria |
0.55 |
0.50 |
0.45 |
0.50 |
0.40 |
0.45 |
0.35 |
0.35 |
0.30 |
0.35 |
0.30 |
0.35 |
| Croatia |
. |
. |
0.40 |
0.50 |
0.30 |
0.20 |
0.15 |
0.25 |
0.25 |
0.25 |
0.30 |
0.30 |
| France |
0.65 |
0.50 |
0.75 |
0.50 |
0.55 |
0.35 |
0.20 |
0.30 |
0.20 |
0.45 |
0.35 |
. |
| Hungary |
0.20 |
0.30 |
0.25 |
0.45 |
0.35 |
0.25 |
0.10 |
0.15 |
0.20 |
0.15 |
0.20 |
. |
| Ukraine |
. |
. |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.35 |
0.25 |
0.20 |
0.25 |
0.15 |
0.25 |
0.15 |
. |
| Belarus |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
. |
. |
0.15 |
. |
| Lithuania |
. |
. |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.15 |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.30 |
. |
| Sweden |
0.15 |
0.10 |
0.25 |
0.25 |
0.15 |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.10 |
. |
| Egypt |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.25 |
0.25 |
| Tunisia |
. |
0.10 |
. |
. |
0.10 |
0.10 |
. |
. |
0.15 |
. |
. |
. |
| Belgium |
0.15 |
0.20 |
0.20 |
0.10 |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.20 |
0.15 |
0.10 |
0.30 |
0.15 |
0.35 |
| Greece |
0.10 |
0.30 |
0.50 |
0.25 |
0.55 |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.10 |
0.15 |
0.30 |
. |
| Spain |
0.50 |
0.50 |
0.40 |
0.30 |
0.30 |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.15 |
0.10 |
0.20 |
0.30 |
0.25 |
| USA |
. |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.10 |
. |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.10 |
. |
. |
. |
| Turkey |
. |
. |
. |
. |
0.10 |
. |
. |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.15 |
. |
| Ireland |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
0.10 |
0.15 |
0.25 |
. |
| Bulgaria |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
0.10 |
. |
0.15 |
0.10 |
. |
| Russia |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
0.15 |
0.10 |
. |
. |
. |
0.20 |
. |
| Denmark |
0.10 |
0.20 |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.10 |
0.10 |
. |
. |
. |
0.25 |
0.10 |
. |
| Norway |
. |
0.10 |
. |
. |
0.10 |
. |
. |
. |
. |
0.15 |
0.10 |
. |
| Total number of tourist trips abroad* |
7.6 |
7.5 |
9.6 |
7.7 |
8.4 |
7.2 |
6.3 |
6.2 |
7.3 |
6.9 |
7.6 |
6.3 |
Source: surveys by the Institute of Tourism
*) including trips of children up to 14 years;
'.': less than 0.1 million visits; for 2009 year – less than 0.25.
Data for 2009 year are preliminary and will be updated.
Some tourists visited more than one country during their travels, therefore, the number of
visits to a given country may exceed the number of departures.
For example, visits in Germany are very
frequent, but a great number of them are linked with further
travelling to other countries of Western Europe. Similarly, Polish nationals
travelling to Southern and South - Western Europe usually go through the Czech
and Slovak Republics.
Purposes of travelling abroad
Rest, holidays, country tours, i.e. typical tourist purposes have been recently the basic incentives for Polish foreign departures. In recent (2008 and 2009) years it was 52%, while in 2007 – 42%.
Stays with families and friends keep the level around 25%, while the share of business trips vary from year to year: in 2007 it was 26%, and in the next years – barely 18% and 17%.
Organisation of trips abroad
In 2009 slightly more than 20% of these travelling abroad have used travel office for purchasing packaged services. In previous year it was slightly less than 20%. The differences from year to year are not great, however the upward trend can be seen, taking into account 11% in 2004.
There are also other providers of tourist services: employers, trade unions and a wide range of social organisations: from parish to scauts. The role of them in organising travels abroad has been gradually decreasing.
The self-organized, independent mode of travelling prevails.
"Packaged" tourists vs. self-organized tourists
Several graphs below present what these two groups differ – in terms of sex, age, education, place of residence, and standard of living (self evaluation of). Results are shown seperately for the years 2008 and 2009.
100% - all tourists who belong to the category referred to.
