Record number of Poles travelled abroad in 2025

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Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and is published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Almost two thirds of Poles travelled for leisure purposes last year while almost half went abroad at least once, both of which were the highest figures ever recorded by state pollster CBOS.

The findings add to other recent data showing the rising wealth and disposable income of households in Poland, whose economy has boomed in recent decades.

CBOS’s data for 2025 found that 64% of adult residents in Poland travelled for leisure purposes at least once in 2025, up from 60% a year earlier and the highest figure recorded since the agency began asking that question in 2006.

Meanwhile, the share of Polish residents who travelled abroad at least once also hit a record 44% in 2025, up from 40% a year earlier. CBOS began collecting that data in 1993, when the figure was below 15%.

In both cases, the record numbers of travellers continues a long-term rise, though one that was temporarily halted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

CBOS notes that the share of people who said they travelled for leisure “many times” a year remains low. It stood at just 4% in 2025, up slightly on the 3% in 2024.

But the proportion who travelled for leisure “a few times” rose significantly, from 31% in 2024 to 37% in 2025, while for international leisure trips, it grew from 18% to 21%.

The agency notes that leisure trips are more common among respondents with a higher socio-economic status, particularly those with higher education and per capita income, as well as residents of large cities and people below the age of 45.

“Trips are undertaken at a higher-than-average rate by managers and professionals, administrative and clerical staff, and the self-employed,” it added.

A number of other organisations have also highlighted Poles’ growing wealth and disposable income, and how this has impacted on things like travel.

Last month, Eurostat reported that the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation rose by 7% in Poland in 2025, which was the second-highest increase in the EU, behind only Malta. Over 80% of those stays in Poland were by domestic tourists.

The latest data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) show that, from the fourth quarter of 2022 to the fourth quarter of 2025, Poland recorded the largest growth in real compensation for employees among the OECD’s 38 members.

Poland last year recorded economic growth of 3.6%, more than any other major EU economy and behind only Ireland and Malta. Its GDP also passed $1 trillion, meaning it overtook Switzerland to become the world’s 20th largest economy.

Notes from Poland is run by a small editorial team and published by an independent, non-profit foundation that is funded through donations from our readers. We cannot do what we do without your support.

Main image credit: Frank Lammel/Flickr (under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Olivier Sorgho

Olivier Sorgho is senior editor at Notes from Poland, covering politics, business and society. He previously worked for Reuters.