“Arab autumn” in Zakopane. Guests from the Arabian Peninsula fill the gap left by Polish tourists

This year, the winter capital of Poland particularly appealed to tourists from the Arabian Peninsula. Even cooler autumn weather does not prevent guests from the United Emirates and Kuwait from admiring the Tatra Mountains and Zakopane.

– Every tourist makes us happy. And I would also like to remind you that they were already here before the pandemic and then it was indeed exotic to us in some way, but there were certainly fewer of them then. This year we definitely see that there is absolutely growth in this market. These are mainly tourists from the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, says Elżbieta Wójtowicz, president of the Tatra Chamber of Commerce, in an interview with Katarzyna Świerczyńska for “Wprost”.

Tourists from the Arabian Peninsula even enjoy the rain

In previous years, guests from the Arabian Peninsula left Zakopane at the end of August, but this year it is different. Even in October we can still see them walking along Krupówki. They are not afraid of temperature or rain. – Recently, a woman visited me, as it turned out, with her daughter and her two friends, they wanted to exchange a plane ticket. They said they were delighted with everything here, nature, greenery, the fact that you can breathe. After all, we all know what the climate is like there, they move from one air-conditioned room to another air-conditioned room. That’s why, for example, they are very happy when it rains – says Wójtowicz for “Wprost”.

For hotels in the region, tourists from the Arabian Peninsula constitute a significant part of revenue. They usually stay in the city longer than Polish or foreign tourists. On average, they book as many as 14 days in hotels, while a Polish family usually spends 4 to 5 days in Zakopane.