News from Krakow

On 21 September, the representatives of the Krakow tourism sector discussed the joint implementation of tourism-related activities in Krakow. It was the first meeting in the series entitled “Direction: A city for everyone – Sustainable Tourism Policy”. The main topic of debates and discussions was the directions and possibilities of working together to restore tourism in Krakow after the halt caused by the pandemic.

A self-disinfecting chair that prevents the spread of viruses, in particular the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is an innovative idea of Angelika Kopcińska, a student at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Krakow University of Technology. The prototype of the invention was designed and constructed as part of a successful defence of her master’s thesis.

A 259-room ibis Styles Kraków Centrum hotel has opened its doors to welcome its first guests, joining the Accor hotels family, a leading hotel group in the world. Known for its unique leitmotifs, the brand invites guests to discover the true and vivid history of Krakow, woven into the earliest flowerings of local social culture. The hotel also houses a Chill Bar –a new Accor restaurant concept implemented for the first time in Poland. Hanna Pietras Architectural Design Studio has designed the building. The investor of the new hotel is the renowned Austrian developer, UBM Development.

The Polish Tourism Organisation supports the ‘Safe Tourism’ campaign. The campaign promoting the high level of security of the Polish tourism industry has been initiated by tourist industry organisations, including the Polish Tourism Council and the Polish Council of Industry Meetings and Events. 

‘Tourism in Support of Social Inclusion’ – this is the slogan that accompanies World Tourism Day in 2021, established in 1979 by the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). In the words of Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary General, ‘The human desire to travel and discover is universal, therefore tourism must be available to everyone. So, we all join the tourism activities – we are active tourists’.

The Congress of the International Union of Radio Science (URSI) is held every 3 years in various cities around the world and every time gathers over 1,200 participants. At this year's hybrid congress in Rome, Poland was granted the right to host the event in 2026. The congress will be held on 15-22 August 2026 at the ICE Kraków Congress Centre.

Today, on September 9, the Airports Council International (ACI) World announced at the ACI Customer Experience Global Summit in Montreal, Canada, that next year’s event – the 4th edition of the ACI Customer Experience Global Summit will be held in Kraków on 13-15 September 2022.

‘I am lucky to live where others can only visit for a short time’ is the motto of  "A Sustainable Tourism Policy for Krakow in the Years 2021-2028", a document adopted by the Krakow City Council on March 24 this year, which serves to develop an optimal tourism management model in Krakow after the decline caused by COVID-19.

Traditionally, the summer season has never been busy for the meetings industry. In addition, COVID-19 pandemic caused the postponement of the majority of meetings scheduled for the 2021 summer season for subsequent years.

Kraków was included in the so-called shortlist, i.e., the final stage of applying for the rights to organise the E-AHPBA Congress (European-African Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association) in 2025. Symposium Cracoviense together with the Ambassador of Polish Congresses, Professor Krzysztof Zieniewicz, have initiated the works aiming to bring this prestigious event to Poland, as they have applied for the second time.