Night Mayor and City Helpers to support guests and residents

Challenges and growth of the night‑time economy

The night‑time economy is becoming the key element in developing every major city’s strategy, including Krakow.

Despite its many benefits, the development of the night‑time economy is also fraught with challenges. Ensuring safety and public order, and developing cultural offerings and creative industries are some of the priorities for the newly elected authorities of Krakow.

To ensure sustainable development of this activity area that respects market stakeholders, residents and local entrepreneurs need to cooperate.

Commission and Night Mayor

Miszalski announced that the work of the Commission and the Night Mayor should have two dimensions – regulatory and control, grounded in applicable laws, a consultative and participatory culture, with broad participation of residents, businesses and public administration, so that a common ground can be found and implemented to balance the night‑time economy.

If you are interested in the work of the Commission, fill in the form and send it to: komisja.nocy@um.krakow.pl by 28 June.

The Commission will be composed of representatives of the city's public administration, including representatives of the City Council of Krakow, district councils, relevant departments and services, business associations, and also of the social side affiliated with NGOs and informal groups.

Miszalski announced that a competition for the position of night mayor will be announced next week. The whole process should take up to a month at most, so that a presidential order will be published announcing the composition of the Commission no later than mid-July.

Touristification and level of satisfaction of residents

Krakow’s Deputy Mayor Stanislaw Mazur directed attention to the Doxey Irritation Index, which shows how residents perceive growing tourism. In the last pre-pandemic vacation, Krakow conducted extensive opinion surveys among residents and businesses operating here using this index.

‘The results correspond to what residents of Krakow say. The further away from the centre, the greater the euphoria and apathy, that is, satisfaction or indifference, to the increasing number of tourists in Krakow. But there is an exception – the closer to the centre, and especially the Old Town, the higher the percentage of those who show irritation. We cannot just sweep these emotions aside,’ said Mazur.

It is the fourth time that City Helpers assist residents and guests

The City Helpers project is a clear way of addressing such emotions. Another edition of the City Helpers was officially started during the meeting. For several years now, this project has been bringing real benefits to our city and, above all, to its residents. They make the most from the fact that Krakow's helpers acknowledge certain tourist behaviours.

‘City services have confirmed that there are situations in which such non-repressive reaction is needed and welcomed. Following the example of many European cities, this is how we want to approach it. Sometimes it is necessary to draw someone's attention to the rules, and sometimes it is necessary to help someone – to get to the tram or make a phone call to a loved one. This improves the shared sense of security and positive emotions about being in Krakow,” added Mazur.

This year, City Helpers (25 people) will be out in the city from 15 June to 1 September. Just like last year, they will be on duty from 1:00 pm to 9:00 pm on weekdays, and until 1:00 am on weekends.

The City helpers project is part of “Respect Krakow”, which aims to build the image of Krakow as a friendly and open city that still respects basic rules, for instance, quiet hours at night, not littering the city and not consuming alcohol in public places.

“Respect Krakow” leaflet [pdf].

Helpers not only address inappropriate behaviour in the city centre, but also provide information to visitors and encourage them to explore Krakow's lesser-known attractions.

Importantly, they also provide first aid in the case of injuries, bruises, and fainting. They have made use of training offered by the “Save Life” foundation, and are now able to use a defibrillator. The “Save Life” Foundation donated two defibrillators free of charge as part of its cooperation on this project. The Foundation also trains helpers in first aid. This year, the Public Transportation Authority also offered them two cargo bikes.

Another project novelty are quiet tyres, which you can put on the wheels of yoir suitcase so it moves more quietly along pavements. These tyres will be handed out by helpers around the city.

City Helpers freely communicate in foreign languages, and also this year helpers received electronic translators from Vasco. They will help them to communicate in as many as 108 languages, which will make it much easier to communicate with tourists from all over the world and assist them more quickly and efficiently.

Grzegorz Soszyński, President of the Krakow Tourism Alliance, when introducing the next edition of this project at the briefing, said he wished ‘that all residents would feel like helpers, assisting tourists, but also addressing any inappropriate behaviour.’

Recap of last year's work of helpers

In 2023, in over two months of work, the city's helpers undertook nearly 13,000 actions. There were 956 instances of disorderly conduct recorded, including 75 joint interventions with the City of Krakow Municipal Police, which provided a special phone number for the project and trained the City Helpers team in advance. Those incidents were mainly related to behaviours prohibited in public spaces and disruptions of quiet hours. City Helpers also helped 587 people. They made use of training offered by the “Save Life” foundation, and were trained to use a defibrillator.

They also know how the Old Town, Kazimierz and Stradom cultural parks operate, and so were able to take care of the historic centre of Krakow. Through their work, they made sure that the rules of the cultural parks were followed – controlling the number and placement of swing signs and monitored prohibited activities. In total, they reacted 3,492 times. Visitors to Krakow turned to City Helpers with numerous questions about attractions in the city, including events and festivals. They also asked for recommendations of local restaurants and Krakow's specialties. Several questions also concerned public transportation and Krakow's transportation network. Hot summer days saw a large number of visitors asking about green spaces and swimming areas. In total, City Helpers provided information 7,855 times.

The project is implemented by the UMK Tourism Department in cooperation with the Krakow Tourism Alliance.

Annually, Krakow contributes approximately PLN 450,000 for the operation of City Helpers.