Poznań is applying for prestigious awards
The exceptionally rich winter offer of Poznań has been recognized by European Best Destinations, and Bethlehem Poznanskie will fight for the title of the best Christmas fair in Europe.
The tradition of organizing Christmas markets dates back to the late Middle Ages. Originally associated mainly with the territories of today’s Germany and eastern France, with time it spread throughout Europe. She also reached Poznań, under the name Bethlehem Poznanskie. This year its program is exceptionally rich. From November 18, a market with merry-go-rounds and a 30-meter devil’s wheel from which you can admire the panorama of the city center, operates on Plac Wolności. Bethlehem Poznanski in the Old Market Square has been inaugurated on December 1 by a festive illumination of the Christmas tree. The Paderewski Street connecting both of these places is also a part of the fair. This year, for the first time, there were commercial stands, thanks to which this year’s edition of Bethlehem will be the largest organized so far.
A unique event attracting tourists from around the world is the International Ice Sculpture Festival – Poznań Ice Festival, which is always held on the second weekend of December. This year the event will be held on 8-9.12.2018. In the picturesque surroundings of old-fashioned tenement houses, competitors from around the world will create effective works of art from ice blocks. The festival attracts huge interest from domestic and foreign media. Last year American Travel Channel made an hour-long documentary about it.
The Poznań version of the Christmas market has been recognized by the European Best Destinations, which since 2009 promotes culture and tourism on the “Old Continent”. It implements this goal by running the most-visited tourist website in Europe www.europeanbestdestinations.com, as well as by organizing contests. Poznań, this year as the only candidate from Poland, was nominated in two of them. These are: the Best European Destination competition and the Best Christmas Market in Europe. The latter candidates are also: Budapest, Montbeliard, Amiens, Cluj-Napoca, Strasbourg, Brussels, Erfurt, Aachen, Basel, Seville, Metz, Vienna, Tallinn, Prague, Cologne, Dresden, Leipzig, Lugano and Manchester.
The organizers emphasize that Poznań’s asset is not only the rich offer of the Christmas market, the festival of ice sculptures, but also monuments, culinary traditions and places such as Stary Browar. It is worth adding that the awards granted by the European Best Destinations have not only prestigious or image significance. They also significantly affect the development of tourism in nominated and awarded cities. Porto, after receiving the prize in 2017, noted an increase in the number of tourists by 16%, and the Croatian croatian Zadar, which was awarded in 2016 by as much as 25%.- These nominations allow Poznań to become known in the minds of tourists and tour operators from all over Europe. They are also a confirmation that the cooperation of the Poznań Local Tourist Organization and the City of Poznań with the organizers of events and the tourism industry brings tangible results. Now we are counting on Internet users. We hope that Poznań will be included in this ranking as high as possible, “says Jan Mazurczak, president of the board of the Poznań Local Tourist Organization.
source: TTG Poland
