Foreign visitors spent PLN 10.9bn in Poland in the first quarter of 2026, generating a PLN 3.1bn surplus over Polish spending abroad. The data underline the importance of cross-border trade for local retail economies, with Germany remaining the largest source of spending while airports and eastern-border traffic recorded some of the strongest growth rates.
Foreign visitors spent PLN 10.9bn in Poland. The country benefits from cross-border trade
In the first quarter of 2026, foreign visitors spent PLN 10.9bn in Poland — 7.8% more than a year earlier and PLN 3.1bn more than Poles spent abroad. These are, however, two distinct markets: visitors mainly purchase goods in Poland, while Poles spend abroad primarily on services. Border traffic increased by 2.1%, although Germans still account for the largest share.
The latest data from Statistics Poland and the Border Guard show a quarter of solid, although uneven, growth. Poland’s borders were crossed 63.5 million times — 1.3 million more than in the corresponding period of 2025. Foreign visitors accounted for 56.0% of crossings, while Polish residents accounted for 44.0%. Non-resident traffic increased by 1.4%, while crossings by Poles rose by 3.0%. It is worth noting, however, that compared with the peak in the fourth quarter of 2025, the number of crossings fell by 5.9%, reflecting a typical seasonal winter slowdown.
Visitors buy goods, Poles pay for services
The structure of expenditure is the most interesting aspect for businesses. Foreign visitors spend as much as 70.0% of their money in Poland on goods — primarily non-food products at 47.7%, but also food at 13.3% and tobacco products at 7.1%. This is the typical profile of cross-border shopping: lower-priced purchases on the Polish side of the border. Poles behave in the opposite way abroad: 64.0% of their spending goes on services, while only 36.0% goes on goods. In other words, inbound travel to Poland supports primarily retail trade, while Polish trips abroad mainly support the tourism and services sectors in destination countries.
Spending per individual border crossing only partly confirms this asymmetry: the average foreign visitor spent around PLN 307 per crossing in Poland, while the average Pole spent around PLN 278 abroad. The difference in the total value of spending therefore mainly results from the higher volume of non-resident traffic.
Germany dominates, but the eastern border and airports are growing fastest
The geography of spending remains highly concentrated. Among foreign visitors crossing Poland’s land borders, more than half of spending, 50.4%, came from people arriving from Germany, followed by Ukraine at 20.1% and the Czech Republic at 14.3%. Among Poles, the dominance of the western neighbour is even clearer: 64.0% of spending abroad at land borders was generated by people crossing into Germany, ahead of the Czech Republic at 23.0% and Slovakia at 10.7%.
The contrast in two segments is particularly striking. At the eastern border, visitors from Ukraine spent PLN 1.6bn in Poland, while Poles spent only marginal amounts beyond the eastern border. At airports, by contrast, Poles spent more, PLN 3.9bn, than foreign visitors, PLN 2.9bn. This channel is also growing the fastest across the entire dataset, by more than 17% year on year on both sides. Another distinct development is the surge at the Belarusian border: foreign visitor traffic rose by 22.7%, while their spending increased by as much as 47.5%.
| Border section | Foreign visitors (PLN m) | y/y | Poles (PLN m) | y/y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 3,965.0 | +4.7% | 2,403.2 | +2.4% |
| Airports | 2,934.1 | +17.7% | 3,929.7 | +17.5% |
| Ukraine | 1,577.6 | +0.8% | 12.6 | +0.7% |
| Czech Republic | 1,120.5 | +3.4% | 866.1 | +5.9% |
| Slovakia | 670.8 | +8.6% | 403.0 | +11.7% |
| Lithuania | 297.2 | −4.2% | 67.9 | +3.8% |
| Belarus | 209.6 | +47.5% | 7.0 | +48.7% |
| Sea border | 92.2 | +9.0% | 70.1 | −2.7% |
| Total | 10,885.8 | +7.8% | 7,761.4 | +10.4% |
Within land-border passenger traffic itself, the structure is similar: crossings at the German section dominate at 52.0%, ahead of the Czech Republic at 23.6% and Slovakia at 12.4%. The Ukrainian border accounts for 7.2% of land traffic, while Lithuania, Belarus and Russia account for single-digit or marginal shares.
Cross-border trade remains a local phenomenon: 72.8% of foreign visitors and 72.9% of Poles crossing land borders are residents of localities located within 50 km of the border.
Shopping is also concentrated close to the border — at the EU’s internal borders, 86.4% of foreign visitors made purchases within the 50 km border zone. Small border traffic with Ukraine continues to decline: 172,200 crossings (−22.0% year on year) and PLN 71.7m in spending (−19.8%).
What this means for the market
- Poland has a positive cross-border trade balance of PLN 3.1bn: foreign visitors spend more in Poland than Poles leave abroad.
- These are two different markets — inbound traffic supports Polish retail trade, with 70% of spending going on goods, while Polish trips abroad mainly finance services, accounting for 64% of expenditure.
- Germany remains the backbone of cross-border exchange on both sides, but the airport channel is growing fastest at around 17% year on year, alongside the Belarusian border in relative terms.
- The impact of the border is geographically narrow: almost three-quarters of traffic and the majority of purchases are concentrated within 50 km of the border, making cross-border trade primarily an issue for local economies.
Source: Statistics Poland data, based on a survey conducted by the Statistical Office in Rzeszów in cooperation with the National Bank of Poland and the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, as well as the Border Guard Headquarters; publication “Border Traffic and Expenditure of Foreigners in Poland and Poles Abroad in the First Quarter of 2026” (25 June 2026), preliminary data. Own analysis based on Statistics Poland data.
