Shapes of Tourism Employment

6The Hospitality World in Poland: A Dynamic Industry in Search of Soft Skills

6.1. Introduction: overview of the hotel industry in Poland

Poland’s good economic performance and growing importance linked to tourism have a positive impact on the development of the hotel industry [EME 18]. This country is the object of interest for both international and national investors.

Market estimates show that in the next few years, the number of rooms available to hotel guests will increase by approximately one-third. In Warsaw alone, by the end of 2020, some 20 new facilities will be built [BIG 18].

The most recent comprehensive report on the sector was published by the Central Statistical Office in 2017 [GUS 17]. According to this source, in 2016, there were 10,125 tourist accommodation establishments in Poland, offering a total of 724,000 beds. The number of hotels (2,373) increased by 2.5% compared to 2015. They offered 243,900 beds, which accounted for 33.7% of the overall number. Polish accommodation facilities as a whole welcomed 28.9 million tourists in 2016, for a total of 76.8 million overnight stays, of which 15 million were by foreign tourists. It is important to note that the flow of foreign tourists to Poland is gradually increasing¹. In 2016, arrivals increased to 6.1 million, up from 5.7 million in 2015. Figure 6.1 summarizes the main nationalities represented among the international tourist sources in Poland. The ranking reflects, to a large extent, the structure of Polish ...