Poland is looking to attract more tourists from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including UAE, as reported by Gulf News. Last year, the European country attracted 15.8 million tourists, marking an 11% increase over 2012.

Number of tourists from UAE is small but growing. There were 1,740 tourists from the Gulf country in 2012 from 1,271 in 2011, according to Monika Pasiorowska, senior specialist-marketing planning department at the Polish Tourist Organisation. Tourism foreign exchange revenues touched EUR9.4 billion (AED47 bn) from EUR9 bn in 2012. Tourism accounts for 6.4% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).

Saudi Arabia is the country’s biggest market in the GCC, followed by Qatar and UAE. Visitors from the region go for business followed by medical and wellness-related treatments.

Poland currently does not have a promotional budget for the UAE, but it is looking to have it next year, depending on the amount it can allocate for the country from its basic budget, which stands at EUR10 m, and number of Polish companies that are interested in doing business in the UAE, Pasiorowska explained. The country has 9,775 accommodations, including 308 four- and five-star hotels. Revenue from the hotels stood at €5.7 billion last year.

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