More than 100 foreign tour operators from Japan, Mexico, Canada, the United States and several European markets arrived in Poznań on 5 October for the fifth edition of BUY POLAND, the Polish Tourism Organisation's flagship inbound workshop. The programme runs through 9 October and pairs regional study tours in Wielkopolska with a one-day B2B session on 8 October.

The Polish Tourism Organisation has registered more than 100 Polish service providers for the appointment schedule, including destination management companies, hotels, restaurants and transport operators. The buyer-supplier ratio, near one-to-one, signals an attempt to move beyond promotional volume into negotiated product.

What is on the schedule?

BUY POLAND divides the week into four study-tour tracks: family holidays, active tourism, culinary experiences, and history and culture. Site inspections across Wielkopolska and Poznań run through 7 October. The 8 October workshop shifts participants from visits to commercial terms.

The structure targets a known gap in regional distribution. Many international catalogues still carry only Warsaw, Kraków and Gdańsk for Poland. The format combines live product inspection with fixed appointment slots — the template most European DMOs now use to convert fam-trip interest into contracts.

Why does culinary tourism matter for sellers?

The food itinerary ranks among the more lifestyle-led tracks. It positions regional cuisine inside a broader travel product that includes producers, hospitality venues, regional identity and geography. For inbound operators, that packaging supports higher-yield itineraries than a standard city-break markup.

Wielkopolska supplies the raw material. The region combines an agricultural base with a dense network of towns, museums and cultural sites. Smaller operators — farm stays, regional restaurants, local guides — gain access to international product managers they rarely meet through their own sales pipeline.

What does the 8 October workshop actually deliver?

The workshop moves the room from site visits to commercial conversation. The Polish Tourism Organisation has framed the day around pricing, logistics, seasonal availability and packaging. International tour operators use these direct contacts to test lead times, group sizing and payment terms before adding a destination to their catalogue.

BUY POLAND 2026 does not announce a single new attraction or investment. Its measurable output sits in contracts signed at the workshop and product listings added to operator catalogues over the following months. Historic conversion rates from earlier editions have not been published, leaving the programme's commercial yield unverified.

Why Poznań and not Warsaw or Kraków?

Poznań brings established conference infrastructure, rail and air links, and a compact historic centre. Wielkopolska extends the product outward, giving buyers material for cultural, active and culinary add-ons. For international operators anchored on Warsaw or Kraków, Poznań offers a secondary base with regional product attached.

What is the distribution impact?

The event's commercial value runs through the participating operators' 2026 and 2027 selling seasons. Contracts signed this week will feed directly into the catalogue updates that tour operators file with their distribution partners — OTAs, travel agencies and consortia — between November and January.

The Polish Tourism Organisation has signalled that regional diversification, not flagship-city volume, remains the core pitch. The workshop closes 9 October; the next measurable checkpoint will be the operator catalogue cycle that follows.