Poland Tourism Campaign Enlists Lewandowski, Rubik, and Eisenberg to Win Travellers in Europe and the US

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Poland is modern and diverse and safe and authentic. That’s how Poland wants the world to see it, as it promotes itself to travelers across the Atlantic and the pond. To show off its modern side, Poland is highlighting Lewandowski, a Polish soccer star, then a Polish supermodel and a Hollywood director, Jesse Eisenberg. The ads will focus on Warsaw for now. The ads accompany the slogan, “Poland. More than you expected.” The Polish Tourism Organization will promote it in Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK, and the US. As strong interest in Poland’s offerings grow, Poland needs to prepare for the tourists. The 2025 statistics from Eurostat state a 7.2% increase in accommodated tours to Poland and only Malta showing greater interest from tourists among EU nations.

Poland Tourism Campaign Targets High-Value Markets

The new campaign marks a sharper international push by Poland to strengthen its destination identity. Rather than relying only on historic imagery, the strategy combines sport, fashion, cinema, culture and contemporary urban life.

The campaign has been commissioned by the sports and tourism ministry. The Polish Tourism Organisation (POT) is responsible for its international rollout.

The first 30-second film places Warsaw at the centre of the message. Lewandowski, Rubik and Eisenberg appear around recognisable locations, while actor Nikodem Rozbicki portrays composer Fryderyk Chopin.

That creative choice gives the campaign several layers. Warsaw represents contemporary Poland, while Chopin connects the capital with the country’s cultural heritage.

The slogan also seeks to challenge assumptions about Poland. Tourism authorities believe international visitors often develop more favourable perceptions after experiencing the country themselves.

Sports and tourism minister Jakub Rutnicki described the intended image as “modern, safe, diverse and authentic”. He also highlighted the country’s ability to defy established stereotypes.

The approach reflects a wider destination-marketing shift. Countries increasingly compete through emotional recognition rather than conventional lists of attractions.

Poland is therefore selling an experience as much as a destination. Famous personalities provide the attention, while cities, heritage and landscapes provide the substance.

Global Stars Give Poland Travel A New Identity

Robert Lewandowski brings exceptional international recognition to the campaign. His sporting profile gives Poland an immediate connection with football audiences across Europe and beyond.

His recent move to Chicago Fire also strengthens the campaign’s relevance in the United States. That connection could prove particularly useful as Poland expands its American tourism marketing.

Anja Rubik adds another global dimension. Her international fashion career positions Poland within a sophisticated cultural and lifestyle conversation.

Eisenberg offers a different connection. His family links to Poland and his film A Real Pain created renewed international interest in Polish Jewish heritage.

The combination is strategically broader than a traditional celebrity endorsement.

Each personality reaches a different audience. Football connects with mass leisure markets. Fashion supports premium and lifestyle positioning. Cinema creates opportunities around culture, history and heritage.

The campaign also features former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Wałęsa. His presence adds historical depth to a campaign otherwise built around contemporary personalities.

Music further strengthens the creative identity. Polish composer and conductor Radzimir Dębski, known as Jimek, arranged the campaign soundtrack.

This combination allows Poland to move beyond a single tourism proposition. Travellers can encounter the country through architecture, food, culture, sport, history, nature and contemporary creativity.

Warsaw Leads Poland Tourism Campaign

Warsaw is the logical starting point for the international campaign. Poland’s capital offers a particularly strong contrast between historic memory and modern urban development.

The film uses Chopin to establish the city’s cultural credentials. His heart remains preserved inside Holy Cross Church, giving Warsaw a deeply personal connection with one of Poland’s best-known cultural figures.

Yet the campaign does not present Warsaw solely as a heritage destination.

That balance matters for international travellers. Modern city breaks increasingly combine museums and architecture with restaurants, nightlife, shopping and contemporary cultural experiences.

Warsaw can provide all those elements within one destination.

The city also acts as a practical gateway for wider Polish travel. Visitors can use it as the starting point for multi-city itineraries covering Kraków, Gdańsk, Wrocław, Poznań and other destinations.

For international tourism businesses, that creates opportunities to package Poland beyond a single city.

The campaign’s emphasis on Warsaw could therefore support broader regional dispersal if visitors extend their stays.

Poland Tourism Campaign Follows Strong Growth

The timing is significant because Poland enters the campaign from a position of considerable momentum.

Eurostat recorded 7.2% growth in nights spent at tourist accommodation in Poland during 2025. That placed Poland second among EU countries, behind Malta.

Poland’s domestic accommodation figures also demonstrate strong demand.

During the first half of 2025, 18.9 million tourists stayed in accommodation establishments with at least 10 bed places. They generated 44.9 million overnight stays.

Tourist numbers rose 11.6% year on year. Overnight stays increased 8.5%, according to Statistics Poland.

International demand also formed an important part of that growth.

Foreign visitors accounted for 3.8 million tourists in Polish accommodation establishments during the first half of 2025.

These figures provide important context for the campaign. Poland is not trying to manufacture interest from nothing.

Instead, authorities are attempting to convert existing momentum into stronger international recognition and longer-term demand.

The national statistics cover establishments with at least 10 bed places. Therefore, they should not be interpreted as a complete count of every stay in Poland.

Kraków Remains Poland’s Major Draw

Warsaw may lead the new campaign, but Kraków remains critical to Poland’s international tourism proposition.

The city combines medieval architecture, cultural institutions, culinary tourism and easy access to surrounding attractions.

That diversity makes Kraków particularly attractive for European short breaks.

Poland’s wider tourism offer is equally important. The country stretches from the Baltic coastline in the north to mountainous landscapes in the south.

Travellers can therefore combine urban and nature-based experiences within one national itinerary.

The Baltic coast provides a different proposition from Warsaw and Kraków. Long sandy beaches create opportunities for summer leisure, while maritime towns offer a slower travel experience.

Masuria adds another dimension through its lakes and outdoor recreation.

Southern Poland provides mountain tourism, hiking and winter sports.

This geographical diversity supports the campaign’s central message. Poland can appeal to different traveller segments without forcing the destination into one narrow identity.

Lublin Adds Heritage Depth

Lublin represents another emerging component of Poland’s tourism strategy.

The eastern Polish city recorded a record 2.2 million visitors in 2025, including more than half a million international visitors, according to the figures cited by the campaign’s source material.

Its international profile also benefits from its Jewish heritage and connections with Eisenberg’s family history.

That relationship provides a useful example of how cultural tourism can develop through storytelling.

The city will also become European Capital of Culture in 2029, creating another opportunity to increase international visibility.

For travellers, Lublin offers an alternative to Poland’s established city-break circuit.

That matters for destination management. Successful tourism growth increasingly depends on spreading visitors beyond the most famous locations.

A broader network of cities can distribute visitor spending and reduce pressure on established hotspots.

What The Campaign Means for Travellers

For travellers, the campaign should make Poland more visible across major European source markets and the United States.

The five target markets are Germany, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and the US.

These markets cover both geographically close European travellers and a major long-haul market.

The campaign could influence travel consideration rather than immediate bookings. Destination advertising often works first by changing awareness and perceptions.

Travellers should therefore expect the campaign to introduce destinations beyond the traditional Kraków itinerary.

The most useful opportunity lies in combining several experiences.

A visitor could begin in Warsaw, continue to Kraków and then travel north towards the Baltic coast. Another itinerary could combine Warsaw with Lublin and the Masurian lakes.

Poland’s rail and road networks make multi-city travel particularly relevant for European visitors.

For long-haul travellers, a longer itinerary can also make the destination more compelling. Instead of treating Poland as a short city break, visitors can build a broader cultural holiday.

The campaign’s message supports precisely that approach.

Poland Builds A Broader Tourism Brand

The campaign also forms part of a wider government ambition for tourism.

Poland’s sports and tourism ministry has previously outlined an objective of increasing tourism’s contribution to approximately 9% of GDP within a decade, compared with about 5% currently.

That ambition requires more than advertising.

It requires stronger destination branding, improved international distribution, competitive air connectivity, quality accommodation and compelling regional products.

The government’s broader branding strategy also seeks to promote internationally recognised Polish athletes, artists, historical figures and products.

The campaign therefore represents one component of a wider national-branding programme.

The POT’s 2026 promotional plan also includes international activity built around the “Poland. More than you expected” identity. Its programme includes digital outdoor advertising in the United States and premium placements aimed at international business and affluent leisure travellers.

The organisation is also using the slogan within its 2026 inbound tourism promotion programme.

This indicates that the campaign is not an isolated advertising burst.

Instead, Poland is building a sustained international marketing platform around a recognisable proposition.

A More Strategic Bid for International Visitors

Poland’s campaign arrives at a moment when European destinations are competing intensely for international visitors.

The challenge is no longer simply attracting travellers. Destinations must persuade visitors to stay longer, spend more and explore beyond established gateways.

Poland has several advantages in that competition.

Its cultural heritage is substantial. Its geography supports diverse holidays. Its cities offer comparatively broad city-break options.

Strong recent accommodation growth also suggests that international interest is already expanding.

The next challenge will be converting awareness into commercially valuable demand.

That means encouraging longer stays and greater regional distribution. It also means reaching premium leisure travellers without losing the destination’s broad appeal.

The campaign’s celebrity-led approach could help achieve the first stage by generating attention.

However, the lasting impact will depend on what travellers encounter after seeing the advertising.

Transport connectivity, accommodation quality, visitor services and regional tourism products will ultimately determine whether expectations become repeat travel.

What Visitors Should Expect Next

The revamped campaign gives Poland a more modern and bold international tourism campaign.

Poland’s campaign chooses for its tourism narrative the merging of its history with sport, cuisine, fashion, cinema, nature and urban and modern culture, as opposed to emphasizing them in a certain order.

This merging distinction is important because today’s international tourists want and seek out destinations where they can spend less time traveling to get more experiences.

The campaign’s selection of the five international markets gives Poland a clear commercial focus. They are Germany, Spain, Italy, the UK and the US. These countries give Poland plenty of opportunities for inbound tourism.

Poland has strong tourism statistics recently which creates a great opportunity for further growth.

For the moment, Poland seeks to shift celebrity recognition into discovery of the destination. Warsaw has the first chapter, and many other reasons to continue traveling to Kraków, Lublin, the Baltic Coast, Masuria, and Southern Poland.

Because of all this, for Europe travelers in the next few years, Poland is far more than just another conventional city break destination.

Poland’s focus is to have visitors plan a trip based on expectations and experience a much greater country then what was expected.