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Warmia-Masuria tourism voucher to launch in late September after previous fiasco
🇵🇱 Poland /Economy & Trade

Warmia-Masuria tourism voucher to launch in late September after previous fiasco

From Rzeczpospolita · () Polish

Translated from Polish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Warmia-Masuria will open applications for a 300-zloty tourism voucher on Sept. 29, with the program supporting stays of at least two nights at participating accommodations.
  • The region will distribute vouchers worth 3.5 million zlotys across three rounds, with separate funds for seniors and large-family-card holders.
  • The previous edition was canceled after technical errors displayed other people’s personal details, while prosecutors found no hacking or unauthorized access to personal data.

Warmia-Masuria will begin distributing tourism vouchers on Sept. 29 at 10 a.m., offering a 300-zloty subsidy toward a stay of at least two nights at participating accommodation. The region will conduct three application rounds and distribute vouchers worth a total of 3.5 million zlotys.

The program will run from Sept. 29 through Nov. 30, 2026. People who receive a voucher online must book directly with participating properties rather than through reservation platforms. The list of participating accommodations is expected by Sept. 22, while detailed rules will be published later.

All adults can apply. Separate allocations will be available for people aged 60 and over and for holders of the Large Family Card. Information for applicants is available at czekwarmiamazury.pl.

We will conduct three application rounds for people interested in receiving the voucher. The first will begin on Sept. 29 at 10 a.m.

— Marlena RogowskaThe deputy head of the Warmia-Masuria Regional Tourism Organization announced the application schedule.

The new program follows a troubled spring edition. During voucher generation, users saw other people’s personal details, leading officials to invalidate the vouchers and report the matter to prosecutors on suspicion of a hacking attack. Olsztyn district prosecutor’s office declined to open an investigation, saying technical errors caused the problem. Prosecutor Daniel Brodowski said officials found no unauthorized interference with the system, deliberate action by third parties or unauthorized access to personal data.

The national Sports and Tourism Ministry provided 1.5 million zlotys each to four eastern Polish regions, including Warmia-Masuria, Podlaskie, Lublin and Podkarpackie. Each regional government had to provide matching funds. The scheme aims to encourage tourism and support local businesses affected by the region’s image problems linked to Russia’s war in Ukraine.

We established that there had been no unauthorized interference with the operation of the IT system handling the tourism voucher or deliberate action by third parties.

— Daniel BrodowskiThe Olsztyn prosecutor’s office explained why it declined to open an investigation into the previous edition.
About this summary

Originally published by Rzeczpospolita in Polish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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