Greece: Top Destination for Polish Travellers, Scandinavians’ Favorite

Member of Polish Tour Operators Association (PZOT) and president of Grecos Holiday, Wojciech Skoczynski.

Greece comes in first place on a list of top destinations for Polish tourists in 2015 with a market share of 27.5 percent, according to data of the Polish Tour Operators Association (PZOT). Turkey follows in second place with a market share of 14.5 percent.

The data was presented during an event held last week by tourism consultants North Events that introduced the first edition of the dedicated travel fair in Warsaw for Greece and Cyprus Grecka Panorama to the Greek media and tourism professionals.

The Grecka Panorama fair will be held at the Torwar Arena during December 11-13 and based on the successful concept of the Grekland Panorama exhibitions held in Stockholm, Sweden.

The general manager of North Events, Leonidas Babanis, presents the 1st Grecka Panorama fair that will take place in Warsaw, Poland.

The event will aim to present and promote Greece’s tourism, gastronomy and culture under one roof and at the same time showcase destinations, businesses, products and services to the Polish public, with the aim of attracting more visitors.

The first Grecka Panorama is expected to boost Greece’s already high popularity in the Polish market.

Commercial Attaché of Poland to Greece Miroslaw Gojdz.

According to available data and estimates of the travel sector, over the last two years, Poland has been one of Greece’s most dynamically developing markets in terms of visitors. The Greek destinations of Crete, Rhodes, Zakynthos, Corfu and Kos are among the top 10 holiday destinations for Polish travellers.

Speaking at the event, the Commercial Attaché of Poland to Greece Miroslaw Gojdz said that he expects the number of Polish visitors to Greece this year to reach some 900,000, compared to 600,000 in 2014 and 400,000 in 2013.

“The Polish market can develop into one of the main markets for Greek tourism in the next three years”, Mr Gojdz said and added that the number of Poles visiting Greece could reach the level of 1.5 million tourists in a few years.

Greece is a Scandinavian favorite

The product manager of TUI NORDIC, Joanna Strand, informed that as of 2016 TUI will be adding the destinations of Zakynthos and Heraklion to its program.

North Events also presented the 3rd Grekland Panorama fair which will take place in Sweden on February 12-14, 2016.

One of the largest exhibitions in Stockholm, Grekland Panorama will once again bring together tourism sector professionals from Greece and Scandinavian countries that wish to build bridges and enter future collaborations.

During the presentation, representatives from leading tour operators TUI Nordic and Apollo, agreed that this year is turning out to be one of the best in regards to bookings to Greece.

“Apollo volumes to Greece are increasing next year and early indications of sales look promising”, Manos Iatrou from Apollo Kuoni informed the Greek audience.

According to the general manager of North Events, Leonidas Babanis, the third Grekland Panorama is expected to attract around 15,000 visitors, compared with 11,000 in 2015 and 7,000 in 2014. It is already one of the largest exhibitions of all sectors and articles made in Stockholm.

However, despite the encouraging news, both the Scandinavian and Polish tour operators at the event stressed that Greece’s refugee issue and the rise in prices due to the hike in the value-added tax (VAT) on tourism services could put a damper on the further increase of tourist arrivals.

Greek Travel Pages (GTP) is among the main media sponsors of both events.