Record numbers of tourists in Kraków and Małopolska. European Games in the background

Kraków and Małopolska are recording record numbers of tourists. Compared to July 2022, the number of visitors increased by 100,000. One of the events that contributed to this result was the Kraków-Malopolska European Games 2023.

The halfway point of the summer holidays is behind us, so the Małopolska Tourist Organisation has announced its first results. The year-on-year increase is very clear. In July 2022, Kraków and Małopolska were visited by 66,000 foreign tourists. This year, 165 thousand visitors were recorded in the same period. This is also a significant increase compared to June 2023 – by almost 94 per cent.

“The year 2023 is marked by the return of foreign tourists. The main magnet is Krakow, but many tourists come to our region because of Zakopane or the Pieniny area. This is where the Dunajec river rafting or cycling routes are an asset,” says Grzegorz Biedroń, President of the Małopolska Tourist Organisation.

Małopolska is most often visited by tourists from Germany, USA, Great Britain, Slovakia, Israel and Italy.

It is worth noting that in July there was an increase in domestic tourists visiting Małopolska – an increase of almost 27% compared to the previous month. Małopolska was most eagerly visited by residents of the following voivodeships: Śląskie, Mazowieckie, Podkarpackie, Dolnośląskie, Wielkopolskie and Łódzkie.

The Krakow Airport also set records this year. Airport Balice handled 5,290,259 passengers in July. This is the best result ever achieved by Kraków Airport in the history of the year.

The excellent results are the effect of several promotional campaigns, but the European Games are also not without influence on these figures. After all, around 7,000 athletes arrived in Małopolska, along with their staff and fans.

What is more, the European Games were broadcast in 50 countries around the world. The television broadcasts were great publicity for our region.