Foreign tourists now account for almost one in every five overnight stays in Poland. Germans, Britons and Ukrainians remain the leading groups, while demand from Czech and Chinese visitors is growing particularly rapidly. In the first half of 2026, foreign tourists purchased more than 8% more overnight stays in Poland than in the same period of 2025, according to estimates by 5S Invest based on Statistics Poland (GUS) data.
Although Polish tourists have consistently remained the key customers of accommodation establishments in Poland, the share of foreign visitors has been steadily increasing. In the first half of 2026, foreign guests accounted for more than 9.3 million overnight stays – over 8% more than in the corresponding period a year earlier. For several years now, the growth rate in foreign demand has clearly outpaced that of domestic accommodation demand.
Foreign visitors appreciate Poland’s high-quality, modern hotel infrastructure, attractive tourist destinations, continuously improving infrastructure – including cross-border connections – and safety. Combined with the growing affluence of Polish consumers, which is also driving stronger domestic demand for accommodation services, the result is a tourism market that is now clearly larger than it was before the pandemic. Preliminary data for the first half of 2026 confirm that almost one in five overnight stays in Polish accommodation establishments was booked by a foreign visitor.
Foreign tourists now account for almost one in five overnight stays in Poland
What is more, if the current growth rate in overnight stays continues throughout 2026, foreign tourists could account for approximately 22 million overnight stays over the course of the year. Domestic tourists will remain the key customers of Polish resorts and destinations. If current trends continue, Polish visitors could generate approximately 88 million overnight stays this year.
Germans remain unrivalled, but Britons are gaining ground
Germans have been the largest group of foreign visitors to Poland for years. In the first five months of 2026, German tourists accounted for more than 1.5 million overnight stays in Polish accommodation establishments, according to GUS data. This is broadly in line with the level recorded before the pandemic. The gap between German visitors and the next-largest groups is still substantial, making a change at the top of the ranking unlikely in the near future.
Britons rank second, although they stay in Polish accommodation establishments roughly half as often as Germans. At the same time, tourism from the United Kingdom has grown significantly in recent years. The number of overnight stays by British visitors in early 2026 was more than one-third higher than during the corresponding period of both 2023 and the first months of 2019, before the pandemic.
Ukraine ranks third. By May 2026, Ukrainian visitors had accounted for approximately three times fewer overnight stays in Polish accommodation establishments than German tourists during the same period. While tourism from Ukraine remains significantly higher than before the pandemic, it has also clearly declined compared with the period immediately following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Czechs are flocking to Polish resorts
The figures for Czech tourists are particularly striking. At the beginning of 2026, the number of overnight stays by Czech visitors was almost four times higher than before the pandemic and more than two-thirds higher than three years earlier. It is difficult not to link this growth to improvements in road infrastructure and increasingly convenient access to Polish resorts.
A similar, although considerably weaker, trend can be seen among Slovak visitors. It is also worth noting that the Czech D11 motorway is expected to be connected to Poland’s S3 route later this year. Although two sections of the high-speed road connecting the Baltic Sea directly with Prague will still be missing, according to the latest declarations, our southern neighbours plan to complete the project by 2029.
Southern European visitors are attracted by more than Poland’s milder summers
Interest in Poland is also growing strongly among Italian and Spanish tourists. According to data for the first months of 2026, the number of overnight stays by visitors from these countries increased by more than one-third and almost one-half, respectively, compared with the corresponding pre-pandemic period.
Importantly, these figures cover January to May, making it difficult to attribute the increase to Poland’s summer weather. The growth may instead be supported by an expanding network of air connections, the popularity of short city breaks and Poland’s still relatively attractive prices.
Demand from Chinese tourists has grown the fastest
The figures for Chinese visitors are even more impressive. During the first five months of 2026, Chinese tourists accounted for more than three times as many overnight stays as in early 2023. Some of this increase is naturally the result of the recovery in international travel following the lifting of pandemic-related restrictions in China, but the scale of the growth remains notable.
If this momentum continues, Chinese visitors could quickly move up the ranking of foreign tourists most likely to visit Poland.
Germans choose the Baltic coast, Britons choose Kraków, while Czechs favour the Karkonosze Mountains
GUS data also show that foreign tourists have very different preferences when it comes to destinations in Poland. For German visitors, the Baltic coast is the clear favourite. In 2025, German tourists accounted for more than 900,000 overnight stays in both the Kołobrzeg district and Świnoujście, while another half a million overnight stays were recorded in Kamień County in north-western Poland.
Britons, on the other hand, favour completely different parts of the country. Kraków is by far their most popular destination, with more than 900,000 overnight stays recorded in 2025. This was more than four times the figure recorded in Warsaw, which ranked second.
Among American visitors, the proportions are reversed. Warsaw is their preferred destination, with Kraków close behind in second place. Ukrainians also tend to favour Poland’s largest cities.
Czech tourists have a very different travel pattern. In 2025, the Karkonosze Mountains were their clear number-one destination. In Karkonosze County, including popular resorts such as Karpacz and Szklarska Poręba, Czech visitors accounted for more than 250,000 overnight stays – over three times as many as in Kraków, which ranked second. A similarly strong level of Czech demand was recorded in Cieszyn County, home to destinations such as Wisła and Ustroń.
5S Invest Analysis Team
5s.com.pl
