The "Old World" is thus named for a reason—it is renowned for its medieval citadels, cobblestone alleys, and History spanning several millennia.

While the 44-nation continent has no shortage of natural and man-made beauties, travelers frequently travel to Europe in pursuit of some of that exotic allure. However, for decades, booking trends were mostly influenced by nations like Spain, Italy, and France.
Much to the surprise of the Mediterranean subgroup, the conventional 'West' is still leading booking patterns, but a less traveled country from the Eastern half is becoming the next tourist hotspot:

Is Poland the upcoming tourist hotspot in Europe?
Poland is undoubtedly not a remote, underdeveloped nation that has been cut off for years, but it does trail its Western peers in terms of foreign tourists.

Without a doubt, Poland's statistics are rising, with up to 15.9 million visitors reported in 2022, when the nation had not yet fully recovered from the COVID collapse, but they still trail Spain's or Italy's, the latter of which hosted 71 million.

With a projected annual growth rate of 48.5% through 2021, Poland's recovery rate is nothing short of remarkable. The country needs to draw slightly over 5 million more tourists in 2023 to reach its pre-pandemic numbers, and it appears that it will succeed in doing so.

Even before the summer statistics come in, it has already hosted up to 7 million visitors in the first quarter of the year. So what is it about Poland that draws so many tourists when they could be in Barcelona instead of Rome to view the Sagrada Familia Basilica or the Colosseum?

First of all, Poland is not a Mediterranean nation. While this could seem like a drawback, especially in the midst of the continuous sunny holiday mania, the Med is becoming increasingly excessively hot.

With temperatures rising beyond 90 degrees and wildfires erupting with little to no notice, this year's fires devastated a number of Greek islands, France's Cote d'Azur, and countless coastal districts in Southern Spain.

As many as 8,000 visitors had their vacations wrecked by the oppressive heat on Rhodes, an island in the Greek Dodecanese, forcing people to flee as the entire landscape caught fire.

Even while Poland has beaches and a similarly vast natural wealth to Southern Europe, it is not quite as hot there during the summer despite having long, pleasant days of sunlight and high temperatures.

Poland, along with nations like Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and the Nordic region, has a shoreline on the Baltic Sea in instead of the Mediterranean.

Baltic beaches do get rather warm in the summer and fall, and if not for swimming, they make for fantastic sunbathing areas. However, it is undoubtedly not the ideal vacation destination if you're searching for Greece's turquoise-blue ocean and balmy waves.

Additionally, given that Poland is naturally colder, the chance of flames is extremely low, if not nonexistent.

Though Poland has 770 kilometers of largely sandy coastline waiting to be explored, tourists do not just come to Poland to see beaches.

The major resort town in the nation, Sopot, on the Baltic Sea, is a great place to spend a day or two in the sun, but the real sights are elsewhere.

A Little-Known Medieval Heritage
Poland is most recognized for its majestic, mountainous landscape, distinctive folklore, and intriguing history, with miles-long natural parks and ancient cities.

Hel, a sandy peninsula north of Gdansk, Poland's main Baltic port, is described by The Telegraph as "an unlikely slice of beach holiday heaven in sunny Poland," with people choosing this undiscovered spot as one of their favorite places in the nation.

The metropolitan Polish capital of Warsaw was selected as one of the "Best European Destinations" in 2023, thanks to its vibrant nightlife, picturesque post-war downtown neighborhood that is practically concealed by the city's skyline, Brutalist history, and World War II relics.

Krakow, historically regarded as Poland's cultural center, has consistently been chosen by Which?, a consumer group based in the U.K., as Europe's greatest city break.

One of Poland's best-preserved medieval cities is Krakow, which is home to the legendary Wawel Castle, a world-class museum detailing Jewish history throughout the war years, and a lovely pedestrianized central square surrounded by medieval cathedral and other historical structures.

Within a short drive of Krakow, visitors may explore some of Europe's largest salt mines and learn more about the continent's dark past by taking part in guided tours of Auschwitz and Birkenau, two former concentration camps that are now memorials.

Other lovely cities are Torun, a city on the banks of the famous Vistula River that was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its importance as a medieval community, and the aforementioned Gdansk, with its colorful homes and red-tile roofs.

What Will Happen to Poland Next?
Despite having an all-time high of 18.7 million tourist overnights in 2019, the reference pre-pandemic year, Poland may still have a long way to go before it catches up to its Western European counterparts, but it is gradually making progress in that direction, especially now that Western prices have skyrocketed and it is being overtaken by mass tourism.

Poland is more desirable than the Mediterranean South because it is a member of the European Union but is not yet a part of the Eurozone and because the Polish zloty, the native currency, has historically been weaker against the euro, the dollar, and the British pound.

Travelers usually choose less-crowded, cheaper getaways, and Poland easily fits that description.

Based on overnight stays by visitors, it is the 13th most visited country in Europe (and increasing). Spain currently holds the top rank with 299 million people, followed by Italy with 221 million, France with 136 million, and Greece with 120 million.