Poland
Introduction
Travellers from Poland made 18.6 million outbound visits in 2023, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$9.7 billion.
In 2023, the UK welcomed 1.6 million visits from Poland. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was £471.8 million, with an average spend of £290 per visit.
Discover visitor behaviour, travel trade insights, detailed data visualisations for this market – and more. The statistics in this market report are collated from a range of sources such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as sponsored questions and our own research. For further details, see How we source this information.
Visitor characteristics
- Almost all business visitors from Poland are male, but Britain attracts slightly more female than male leisure visitors.
- 40% of Polish visitor spend comes courtesy of visits to friends or relatives, and 31% from business visits.
- Almost half of holiday visitors are making a repeat visit to Britain (excluding British nationals).
- 97% of visitors from Poland are either ‘likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Britain for a holiday or short-break.
Popular activities for this market
Dining in a restaurant.
Sightseeing of famous buildings and monuments.
Going shopping.
Explore the inbound data in full
Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. Includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. This data is based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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Perceptions of Britain in the Polish market
Poles have a positive view of the UK, ranking it second overall out of 60 nations in 2023.
Their most positive perceptions are in relation to culture in general, contemporary culture, sports, cultural heritage, vibrant city life, and historic buildings. Areas of comparative weakness include perceptions of welcome and of the UK’s scenic natural beauty.
The UK is strongly associated with films, museums, music, and sports (2022).
Although many Poles see Britain as having a strong culture and heritage offering, this is equally true of their view of France and Italy.
Activities that appeal to potential Polish visitors include ‘riding the scenic ‘Hogwarts Express’ (Harry Potter train) through the Scottish Highlands’, ‘enjoying a traditional afternoon tea’, ‘driving through the countryside of England’, ‘visiting Madame Tussauds’, and ‘going hiking on the South West coast’.
Global context
Top-level statistics relating to the population, GDP, tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.
| Measure | 2023 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 9.7 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 34 |
| Number of outbound visits (m) | 18.6 |
| Most visited destination | Italy |
Key demographic and economic data
| Measure | 2023 |
| Population (m) | 39 |
| GDP per capita PPP (US$) | 46,528 |
| Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%) | 3.7 |
| Annual GDP growth (%) | 0.1 |
Caring for visitors
Visitors appreciate information being available in Polish.
British food is not a major draw for Poles, but British pubs are popular.
Ownership of credit cards is relatively low compared with Western Europe, and many Poles prefer to pay with cash.
Around 65% of individual Polish travellers book three-star hotels, bed and breakfasts or hostels, although they usually book four- or five-star accommodation when on package tours.
The leisure and travel trade
The Polish tourism market is dominated by many small businesses.
The large tour operators research their main programmes between February and April.
If you commit to the Polish market, you will need to visit your contacts at least once or twice a year.
Access to Britain from Poland
The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.
| Measure | 2023 |
| Weekly aircraft departures | 433 |
| Weekly seat capacity | 85,194 |
| Airports with direct routes in Poland | 13 |
| Airports with direct routes in Britain | 16 |
- Almost two thirds of visits from Poland to the UK are made by plane.
- 13 airports in Poland serve 16 airports in Britain in 2023.
- Following the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled seat capacity on non-stop flights from Poland to the UK recovered to 96% of 2019 levels in 2023.
- The current rate of Air Passenger Duty for visitors departing Britain for Poland is £13.
Further resources
Poland Market Profile
Poland Market Profile
Where visitors from Poland to the UK reside in their own country.xlsx
Data showing area of residence for visits made from Poland to the UK
How we source this information
We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of these data comes from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.
Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how this data is collected and analysed.
