News from Krakow

On November 14–16, 2022, the Korean City of Andong hosted the 18th edition of the World Conference of the Historical Cities, devoted to the topic: ‘Future-Oriented Historical City Based on Community’. Kraków was represented by Katarzyna Piotrowska, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture and National Heritage. During the Conference, the Mayor of Kraków, Jacek Majchrowski, was elected to the Board of Directors of the League of Historical Cities for the 2022–2026 term.

Nine hundred delegates from 80 countries, over 100 speakers and 30 keynote sessions – this is how the ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) world-class event, which was hosted at ICE Kraków on 6–9 November, can be summed up in a nutshell.

A conference to mark the 30th anniversary of the Kraków Chamber of Tourism was held on 7 October at the Conference and Exhibition Centre at Kościuszko Mound. During the event, the Mayor of Kraków presented the Chamber with the distinction ‘Wizard of Kraków Tourism’, which acknowledges the Chamber’s commitment to local tourism development. The Chamber is the first ever to receive this award.

Kraków is a member of the European Alliance of Cities, which covers such cities as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Madrid, Milan, Munich, Paris, Prague, Vienna and Warsaw. Our city is working to normalise the phenomenon of short-term tourist rentals.

Warsaw and Kraków received high ratings in the cyclical MEETINGS STAR report published by Kongress Magazine. Warsaw was ranked seventh and Kraków ninth. The top three were Athens, Prague and Budapest.

The 61st ICCA Congress in Kraków is coming up fast. The PTO will promote Poland as a leader in Central and Eastern Europe based not only on initiatives taken before the event, but also at the event itself and after the congress by organising inspection visits for selected congress participants (planners, associations) together with local congress bureaus. Presenting an attractive congress offer that is comprehensive and in line with current trends will allow lasting business relationships to be built.

Kraków Christmas Fair has been listed among the most interesting European Christmas fairs that The Times is promoting as worth visiting this year. It is one of the Christmas tourist offers, along with Copenhagen, Vienna, Berlin and Gdańsk, among others. The Christmas Fair on Kraków's Main Market Square will be inaugurated on 25 November 2022 and will run until 1 January 2023.

Four Polish women have been nominated for the prestigious Rise and Raise Other Award awarded by United Nations Women. UN Women is a United Nations agency dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment. The nominated Polish women are Iga Świątek, Dominika Kulczyk, Agata Kołodziejczyk and Paula Fanderowska.

On 29 September – 1 October 2022, ICE Kraków Congress Centre and the Jagiellonian University Faculty of Medicine Conference Centre hosted the 7th McMaster International Review Course in Internal Medicine - MIRCIM 2022.

A total of 1.35 million people attended more than 1,100 events. These figures sum up the first eight years of the ICE Kraków Congress Centre at the very start of its ninth year. With hundreds of congresses, conferences, business meetings and concerts  as well as cultural and social events organised since the venue first opened its doors in 2014, Kraków has strengthened its position as a leader in the meetings industry. ICE Kraków is operated by the Kraków5020 company.