Saudi photographer Fahad Alayyash gazed over the Alpine-like panorama of the Tatras, Poland’s highest mountain range – and a surprising new hotspot for Arab tourists.

The 38-year-old man is among thousands of Gulf residents spending their summer vacation in Zakopane, a resort town known for its ski lifts and hiking trails, where historic wooden houses mix with modern hotels.

“We’ve completely taken over the place,” Fahad said while standing on Gubalowka, a peak overlooking Zakopane, where dozens of visitors drink coffee, shop for souvenirs and enjoy the view.

Zakopane, located in southern Poland, has become a major summer draw for holidaymakers from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, with up to seven daily flights from the region at nearby Krakow Airport.

The boom started with a Saudi travel agency representative, said Agata Wojtowicz, head of the Tatra chamber of commerce.

She said the official came to Zakopane to scout for a new destination with a direct connection to the Gulf and “was astonished” by the town.

Flydubai launched the first Dubai-Krakow connection in 2018 and Emiratis are now coming in droves – helped by their visa-free access to the European Union.

A woman wearing a headscarf taking a picture of her child on Gubalowka.

Last year they were Poland’s fastest-growing tourist group, according to the tourism ministry, with numbers 66% higher than in 2023.

Manal Alanazy, a 45-year-old educational technology professor at King Saud University, said Zakopane is well-known among Saudis.

“When I told my dad and my brother that I’m going to Poland, my brother didn’t like it. He said: ‘It’s all Gulf people there’,” she said.

Zakopane uses social media to attract Gulf tourists who have created “a snowball effect” of growing interest, said Wojtowicz.

Over the past three years, influencers have been invited on promotional visits, according to Grzegorz Biedron, chairman of its tourism organisation.

Both Manal and Abdullah Alotaibi, a 30-year-old Kuwaiti ship captain, learnt about Zakopane from X.

“I saw on Twitter (X) a thread about Zakopane, and how it treats all people the same, and there is no racism about religions, so I liked it and I came,” said Abdullah.

Arab tourists cite the feeling of safety as one of Zakopane’s key assets.

“It was dark and I was walking. I’m like, ‘You’re not in Poland, you’re in one of the Gulf countries. Just look. Nothing will happen’,” said Manal.

Tourists taking a picture of a kebab on Krupowki, the main pedestrian zone of Zakopane.

Halal menu

For Zakopane’s business owners, the Gulf clientele has been a blessing.

“This year, around two-thirds are Arabs,” Anna Stoch-El Einen, who owns a kebab restaurant and souvenir shop, said of her customers.

“We have very few Polish tourists in the region, perhaps because of the weather,” she added.

The hospitality industry has adapted fast to the preferences of Middle East visitors.

Stoch-El Einen offers menus in Polish and Arabic, and has a “halal” certificate displayed over the counter.

“We also make sure that we have a halal menu,” said Wiktor Wrobel, CEO of the region’s Nosalowy hotel group.

Arab customers constitute up to 30% of all summer guests at his five-star hotel in Zakopane.

City mayor Lukasz Filipowicz said, “local entrepreneurs are very happy about the presence of tourists from the Middle East”.

He said the biggest challenge was the difference in driving cultures, with visitors often breaking parking and entry laws.

“Every municipal police patrol is equipped with a handbook in Arabic... so that tourists from the Middle East can understand and comply with the applicable regulations,” Filipowicz said.

The day is rainy, but the drizzle did not deter Gulf visitors escaping the infernal summer heat in their home region. Temperatures sometimes top 50°C in the Gulf, whereas Polish summers are generally mild.

Alanazy initially wanted to vacation in Paris.

“I cancelled because the heatwave hit the European countries,” she said, adding that “the weather is perfect” in Zakopane.

Wrobel said climate change is a reason behind the surge in Zakopane’s popularity.

“The respite that visitors from Arab countries are looking for cannot be found in Italy or Spain, where temperatures have also risen significantly,” he said.

Hanka Krzeptowska-Marusarz, whose family runs a guesthouse in Zakopane, recalled seeing a Kuwaiti in modest attire as she stood in a meadow, arms spread out, soaked in torrential rain.

“I thought it was beautiful,” she said. – AFP