The newly-formed organisation is part of the system of local and regional tourism organisations operating in Poland, working in agreement with the Polish Tourism Organisation. The status of the association allows for wide-spread cooperation among the stakeholders of Krakow’s tourism market: private entities, public entities and self-governments. The establishment of the Tourist Organisation of the Royal Capital City of Krakow met with positive reactions from the tourism industry in Poland. Krakow, a showcase of Polish tourism, has joined the ranks of metropolitan cities that create local tourism based on extensive partnerships.

– The establishment of a local tourism organisation in Krakow is both a great opportunity and a challenge at the same time. At the core are the partnership and cooperation of the entire tourism industry of Krakow. We are introducing a new model of tourism management, which, let me remind you, is a very important area for the development of our economy. The city, the tourism industry, and cultural institutions all feel that only together can we achieve this goal. We need you to do this, so thank you for participating in the creation of the local tourist organization – emphasises Jacek Majchrowski, Mayor of Krakow.

The statutory objective of the Association is to work for the sustainability of tourism on the basis of the tourism policy of Krakow, in close cooperation with partners and stakeholders of the tourism market, in order to increase the importance of the tourism sector in the economic development of the city and the metropolitan area, to improve the quality of tourism services by involving and supporting entrepreneurs in the process of commercialisation of the tourism offer, increasing the efficiency of tourism management, and implementing integrated marketing communications in the area of tourism, including cultural, religious, culinary, medical, business and active tourism.

– 13 October – which happened to be a Friday – turned out to be a lucky Friday in the history of Krakow tourism. On this day, the “Tourist Organisation of the Royal Capital City of Krakow” association was registered. To date, despite the lack of formal registration in the National Court Register, the association has actively participated in numerous events, congresses, conferences, panel discussions or consultation panels related to the tourism industry. Today we can begin the formal process to establish LOT structures, prepare a detailed budget and a programme of activities for the near future. I know that the expectations are high, so we will try to carry out all these activities as soon as possible in order to start implementing substantive projects serving the stakeholders of the tourism market in the near future – says Grzegorz Soszyński, president of the association.

– I am extremely pleased that the Local Tourist Organisation of the City of Krakow has obtained legal personality. This is an important milestone necessary to start public operations. On a global scale, we are experiencing the defragmentation of many areas of economic and social life. Generating shared resources is the answer to this dangerous process. I am convinced that the joint action of many entities present on the tourism market in Krakow will be both a quantitative and qualitative breakthrough – says Dr. Michal Niezabitowski, chairman of the association’s council.

In order to implement its statutory activities, the organisation will also focus on seeking potential sources of external funding. The first steps have already been taken with regard to obtaining EU funds in the future. The association is a partner in the SCT HUB – Codesign the Future of Sustainable Cultural Tourism project, implemented under the European Urban Initiative programme together with the Municipality of Krakow, the Krakow Festival Office, the Krakow City Development Agency, Jagiellonian University, the Polish Heritage Foundation, and foreign partners. The planned project addresses the need to support sustainable cultural tourism in the city, with a value of EUR 5 million. The goal is to create an innovation lab, the Sustainable Cultural Tourism Hub, which will follow a participatory model of collaboration and a unique, innovative market research methodology. The application was submitted in October 2023, and the decision on the qualification of the project will be known in May 2024.

The first opportunity to celebrate the association’s registration and, at the same time, to talk to people connected with Krakow’s tourism industry is this year’s Tourism Forum. The event took place on 26 October at the Krzysztofory Palace, at 10 a.m. The agenda included a panel discussion, among others with representatives of the Association, discussing specific forms of cooperation between stakeholders in the tourism sector in our city. It was also an opportunity to showcase the newly formed organisation and the benefits associated with membership.