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Dispute Over Polish Tourism Program for Inbound and Incentive Travel; ESPT Cites Unclear Criteria
🇵🇱 Poland /Economy & Trade

Dispute Over Polish Tourism Program for Inbound and Incentive Travel; ESPT Cites Unclear Criteria

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • The Polish Tourism Organisation (POT) announced a contest for inbound and incentive travel services, allocating 3.8 million zloty.
  • The European Association of Travel Agents (ESPT) criticized POT's criteria, particularly the requirement for membership in the Polish Chamber of Tourism.
  • POT defends the criteria as one of several methods to verify companies' experience in the relevant tourism sectors.

The Polish Tourism Organisation (POT) launched a promotional services contest in early August, aiming to invigorate travel agencies focused on inbound tourism and encourage companies to organize incentive travel within Poland. The organization has allocated 1.9 million zloty for each of these two sectors, totaling 3.8 million zloty.

membership in a trade organization should not be a criterion for access to a program financed with public funds.

— ESPTThe European Association of Travel Agents' statement regarding the Polish Tourism Organisation's contest criteria.

Under the "Inbound and Incentive Travel Support Program 2026," eligible companies can receive up to 25,000 zloty for organizing new incentive events in Poland or 75,000 zloty for promotional activities, including study tours and trade fair participation. The program's concept emerged after the Persian Gulf War, with POT seeing an opportunity to enhance Poland's image as a safe and tourism-friendly destination, particularly for incentive travel.

However, the verification rules set by POT have drawn criticism from the European Association of Travel Agents (ESPT). ESPT specifically objects to the requirement of membership in the Polish Chamber of Tourism as a condition for accessing public funds. ESPT argues that such affiliation should not be a barrier and calls for greater transparency in the program's rules.

POT had to adopt some way of checking whether companies applying for money from the proposed program have the appropriate experience in specific areas of tourism (inbound and incentive tourism). Membership in a trade organization is only one of several such methods.

— Magdalena KruczPresident of the Polish Tourism Organisation explaining the rationale behind the program's eligibility requirements.

Magdalena Krucz, president of POT, explained that the organization needed a method to ensure that applicants possess the necessary experience in inbound and incentive tourism. She stated that membership in a trade organization is just one of several verification methods and that access to the program is not solely dependent on this affiliation. POT has since expanded the condition to include membership in any relevant trade organization.

We do not limit entrepreneurs' access to the program solely based on membership in a trade organization. There are more verification options.

— Magdalena KruczPresident of the Polish Tourism Organisation clarifying the flexibility of the program's eligibility criteria.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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