The War-related Impacts on Tourism in Neighbouring Countries: Poland in the Face of the War in Ukraine
The War-related Impacts on Tourism in Neighbouring Countries: Poland in the Face of the War in Ukraine

Summary/Abstract: Objective: In contrast to countries directly involved in military conflicts or terrorism, wherethe impact on tourism has been always reported negatively, the conclusions for neighbouringcountries were not entirely unequivocal: they either suffered from the proximity of warfareor benefited from a spill-over effect. The purpose of this research is to assess how war affectstourism in a neighbouring country with regard to the tourism crisis management framework, thefundamental motives framework, and consumer choice theory.Research Design & Methods: The research was based on quantitative analysis of 29 variables(macroeconomic indicators, international and domestic tourist flows, refugee influx) for the firstten months of the conflict with respect to the hospitality sector in Poland.Findings: The consequences of the war in Ukraine have not led to a decline in the intensity oftourism in Poland in the short term. The mix of foreign tourist flows combined with no significanteffects on domestic travel, has resulted in a surprisingly stable performance.Implications / Recommendations: No short-term decline in tourism intensity is a valuableinsight for participants in the tourism sector, as it allows them time to adjust. However, sharpincreases in energy and fuel costs along with inflation, constitute a threat to domestic demand inthe longer term. Contribution: While the war or postwar issues appear frequently in tourism literature in relationto countries directly involved, the research on neighbouring countries is rare. In contrast toprevious research, this paper focused on a neighbouring country with tourism claiming a relativelylow share of GDP and included direct and indirect war impacts.

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