Interview: Poland well-prepared for Chinese tourists' arrivals: tourism regional head

WARSAW, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- Poland expects Chinese tourists and is well-prepared for their arrivals, a representative of Polish Tourism Organization has said, after outbound tourism began to recover in China earlier this month.

"I'm very happy to notice the changes in China's outbound tourism policy," Malgorzata Tanska, head of the organization's Beijing office, told Xinhua in a written interview recently, referring that China has resumed outbound group travel to certain countries after a three-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

China has just resumed outbound group travel for tourists to 20 countries, including Hungary and Switzerland in Europe, but Poland is not yet among the destinations, she said, voicing her hope that Poland would be added to the destinations soon.

The resumption of outbound travel, part of the measures of China's optimization of the pandemic control measures, has been welcomed by the global tourism industry.

Noting that the number of Chinese people travelling to Poland reached 130,000 in 2019, Tanska said that the Chinese tourism market is one of the most important for Poland.

"We worked hard to let the Chinese people not forget about Poland and its tourist attractions. We actively organized live streams from Polish cities on Chinese social media platforms," she said.

She noted that practical information about Poland attractions, hotels and restaurants is also provided through WeChat, a popular social media platform in China.

Tanska said that Poland's nature, culture and the friendly travel cost are what Chinese tourists most interested in.

She also said that the Polish consulates in China have already resumed issuing visas for individual tourists, and LOT Polish Airlines and Air China have both relaunched direct flights between Beijing and Warsaw with increasing frequency, which will facilitate Chinese travelers.

"After years of pandemic, the Polish hospitality industry is well-equipped for the arrival of international tourists, with higher hygiene standards and stricter sanitation measures in hotels and restaurants," she added.

"There is a Polish saying: 'A Guest at home is like God,'" said Tanska, "We see great opportunity for Poland to win the hearts of Chinese tourists."