Letter from Warsaw

The "coolcation" trend – vacations in cooler climates – has brought a growing number of foreign visitors to Poland. While the summer can be relatively warm in the South, the North − with its 770 kilometers of Baltic Sea coastline − promises a temperate getaway. The unpredictable weather, water temperatures rarely exceeding 16°C and a constant breeze have become selling points in an era when southern Europe is enduring more heatwaves. As a side effect of climate change, the seaside season, which was once strictly confined to the July and August school holidays, now stretches longer each year.

After the Covid-19 pandemic and the early months of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 – which deterred visitors who considered Poland too close to the front – hoteliers are again rejoicing. Hotels in Sopot, a historic seaside resort about 10 kilometers from the city of Gdansk, were fully booked for the May 1 holiday, according to the local tourism organization. The same was true for the Easter holidays.

Nearly 37.9 million travelers used tourist accommodations in 2023 in this Central and Eastern European country, according to Poland's Central Statistical Office (GUS); this represented an increase of 7.1% compared to the previous year. The institution noted that "the number of foreign tourists increased by 22.3%" compared to 2022. The Polish Tourism Organization, reached by Le Monde, has welcomed the trend, highlighting that Poland "ranks among the 20 most attractive countries in the world. Tourists appreciate our beautiful nature and temperate climate."

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