Andrzej Pawluszek nominated representative of the President of the Polish Tourist Organization for foreign offices

On April 13, Rafał Szlachta, the president of the Polish Tourist Organization, appointed Andrzej Pawluszek a representative of the Polish Tourist Organization for Foreign POT Centers. Andrzej Pawluszek is still the deputy director of ZOPOT in Amsterdam.

As we have learned, the duties of the Plenipotentiary include: developing a concept for the functioning of the Polish PTO Foreign Centers on the basis of a review of the current situation and indicating areas that require changes, submitting opinions / recommendations to the President of the PTO on matters related to the operation of Foreign PTO Centers, reviewing applications for hiring and dismissing employees at the POT Foreign Centers.

President of the Polish Tourist Organization, Andrzej Szlachta, said: “I count on teamwork and assistance in managing the Polish Tourist Organization. I want to consult the decisions made with the environment, hence the appointment as a proxy of a man who knows the work of POT centers both from the position of the POT center itself, and from earlier cooperation from the position of a regional tourism organization. At the same time, a young man full of ideas. I hope that together we will revive the activities of foreign centers and give them new dynamics.

In his letter to the directors of PTO centers, Andrzej Pawluszek wrote, among others:

“Undoubtedly, the Foreign Centers of the Polish Tourist Organization are a bright link in the foreign promotion of our country. You know perfectly well that comparing our activities with Trade Offices (former Trade Offices) or Polish Institutes is definitely in favor of POT.

In a difficult international environment, journalistic visits that are organized by you (us) help to present Poland as not only an excellent tourist destination, but also simply a normal country, which helps to eliminate stereotypes and often straighten media distortions …

The intention of the President is to strengthen the foreign promotion of Poland on foreign markets. For it to be effective, effective POT centers are needed. The fact of entrusting a power of attorney to a person from our group is not only a certificate of trust, but also a commitment and a challenge.

President Rafał Szlachta not only wants our centers to function better, but also, provided that additional funds are obtained, would like the network of POT centers to be expanded.

The timing of the pandemic is not easy for all of us. Paradoxically, due to the post-pandemic intensification of our competition, this time may turn out to be even more difficult. We must prepare ourselves to get creative with our message.

We have known each other for years. Sometimes we complain about the headquarters together, sometimes the head office complains about us. These are the realities of structure. Remember, however, that we all work for the image and benefit of our organization.

The attempts to liquidate the PTO or connect us with other entities every few years since 2002 show how serious a problem is the misunderstanding of the importance of tourism promotion.

POT is not a good given forever. We often like, even with a certain superiority, to compare ourselves with the heads of Polish and former WPHiI Institutes. While they drive Mercedes with drivers, we ourselves are chauffeurs-warehousemen-postmen-secretaries. It’s all true.

However, we should not become complacent, to which I also succumb. We know how much we do for Poland, but we often do it without communicating it outside. We need to show our activities to a wider audience more often. In the era of social media and good media contacts that we have developed over the years, it is much easier.

I in no way usurp the right to tell you how to do your work. Nobody knows your markets better than you do. However, I would like us to consider together what we can do better. Where we can find areas we can just improve.

Andrzej Pawluszek worked in 2007-2012 as deputy director at ZOPOT in New York. Earlier, min. in 1998 he won a mandate as an independent candidate for the Karpacz City Council. In the years 1998-2002 he was the head of the Audit Committee and a member of the Sports and Tourism Committee of the City Council.

In the following years, as a councilor of the Lower Silesian Voivodeship Sejmik from the PO-PiS list, he chaired the Sports and Tourism Committee.
In the years 2004-2006 he was the deputy marshal, member of the Lower Silesia Board on behalf of PiS. At that time, he was responsible, among others, for science, education, culture, promotion, tourism and sport.

In the years 2004-2007 he was the president of the Lower Silesian Tourist Organization. Since May 2016, he has been a permanent expert of the Interministerial Team for the Promotion of Poland Abroad at the Chancellery of the Prime Minister and a social advisor to the Secretary of State at the Chancellery of Prime Minister Adam Lipiński.

In 2018-19, he was the Secretary of the Prime Minister. He advised on tourist matters.

Andrzej Pawluszek studied Hospitality Management at New York University – Tisch Center for Hospitality and Tourism (2011, Hotel Operations) as well as political science at the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Wrocław (1999, without defending his diploma).”