Poland Property Investment News

Demand for holiday accommodation rising in Poland

Following several years where there was little demand for holiday accommodation in Poland, the hotel industry in the country is now enjoying a surge in the number of guests it is receiving – both Polish residents and foreign visitors. From 2000 - 2005, the number of hotel guests in the country rose by 36%, and the country’s accession into the EU in 2004 – together with the funding and investment this brought - was a driving force behind this.

The property market in Poland has not traditionally been driven by tourism, and it has the lowest number of hotel beds per capita (50 per 10,000 residents) of any European country. However, according to predictions by the Polish Tourist Organisation (POT), 16.8 million foreign visitors will stay in Poland in 2007, which translates into considerable demand for accommodation.

Property investors in Poland have previously been attracted by the demand from the domestic population, since homeownership is a relatively new concept to the Polish people, and foreign corporate investment has created a wealthier population which further generates demand to rent or buy property.

However, the country’s hotels are now finding that occupancy rates all over Poland are rising, and large international hotel chains are planning their strategies accordingly. Among those who have recently expanded their Polish operations are Holiday Inn, Best Western, Ibis and Radisson SAS, and the largest hotels to open so far this year are the Hilton in Warsaw and the Andersia in Poznan.

Budget airlines are thought to be one of the factors behind the increase in foreign visitors, and their services continue to expand - easyJet launched its latest route between the UK and Poland earlier this week in response to the rise in demand. It is expected that many property investors will follow the example of the hoteliers who are expanding their presence in the country to take advantage of this.