Helping tourists and residents! City Helpers at the halfway point

More than 10,000 City Helpers’ actions in two month

Within the two months of their work, City Helpers undertook 10,308 actions, including providing information to 5,648 people and various assistance to 1,412. They carried out 1,164 successful interventions on occasions of the disturbance of public order, some of them in cooperation with the municipal Police, and they detected 1,951 violations of regulations in the area of the Cultural Park ‘Old Town’. The data comes from an app used by City Helpers for their weekly activity reporting.

During the summer holidays in Kraków, the number of foreign tourists increased significantly at the turn of July and August. They often look for information about the most famous tourist attractions but also ask where to go to a concert and which places are open longer or are worth recommending. There is great interest in the cuisine, especially the regional dishes and local delicacies. Tourists also often need help with directions and assistance with public transportation. They are also happy to use tourist maps prepared by the city.

Sunday is one of the most active tourist days in Kraków. The Main Market Square is particularly busy with Polish and foreign tourists, especially families with children. At that time, City Helpers focus on directing visitors to less crowded areas to facilitate tourist traffic.

On weekend evenings, there is visibly a high concentration of young people within the Old Town. They are most often interested in open-air music events and unique places with the latest culinary trends. However, there do occur interventions concerning people consuming alcohol in public places. So far, they have all ended with a calm conversation resulting in a cessation of activities.

City Helpers can save lives

City Helpers are trained to administer first aid. They have already used their knowledge in this area on several occasions this year. They can assist with a mobile AED life-saving device in an emergency. The defibrillator is located in a cargo bike standing on Market Square. Like last year, the Save Life Foundation took care of City Helpers’ equipment and training.

Satisfied residents

The inhabitants of Kraków are happy with the presence of City Helpers. They are using their services more and more actively, asking for recommended city events, and they are willing to cooperate with them. That includes, for example, directing tourists in search of assistance to the City Helpers’ stand, or the understanding they show when they are informed of infractions of the Cultural Park rules. Surveys show that residents of the Old Town and the city centre highly appreciate City Helpers' work.

A notable problem is the failure to obey the Cultural Park rules, mainly placing the so-called ‘stumbling blocks’ in the Old Town streets, illegal trading and deafening music. All cases are documented and handed over to the municipal police.

Moreover, City Helpers support refugees from Ukraine to familiarise themselves with the city. Particularly in the initial period of their work, there was much interest in the location of aid and administrative points. Currently, such questions arise sporadically.

This year, City Helpers can be recognised by the bright colours of their clothes – lime and magenta make them stand out in a crowd. It is worth noting that 5003 people have approached individual City Helpers in search of information or assistance. They can be found every day between 12 p.m. and 4 p.m. At weekends, mainly out of concern for the residents, they keep an eye on things until 11 p.m.

The City Helpers programme is being implemented for the second time as part of the #RespectKrakow campaign and is part of the recommendations of ‘The Sustainable Tourism Policy for Kraków in the Years 2021-2028’. The programme will run until 11 September.