This is already the 33rd edition of the second oldest travel fair in Poland. At the same time, it was the 20th anniversary of its outdoor version or the Picnic on the Oder Travel and Leisure Festival. The event saw a host of exhibitors. They represented cities, voivodeships, hotels and attractions from all over Poland and abroad. Their stands featured a wealth of tourist attractions and travel inspirations for the thousands of visitors to the Festival. They introduced visitors to their tourist proposals, encouraging them to visit the most beautiful locations and take advantage of interesting offers. In addition to exhibitors from 15 Polish voivodeships, there was also representation from abroad. Representatives from the Czech Republic, Germany, Spain, Cyprus and, above all, Tunisia – which is this year’s partner country of the Picnic on the Oder – presented a varied range of offers. This year’s Picnic on the Oder was a “double partnership” event. The partner country was Tunisia and the partner region was Mazovia. A stand showcasing the International Waterway E70 was also not to be missed among the exhibitors. As every year, the main part of the Festival was the MARKET TOUR Tourism Fair.
In addition, visitors also had the opportunity to enjoy other areas of the event, such as the Variety Fair, the Great Cooking, the Food Truck Festival of Flavours and the Craft Brewery Zone. For the youngest there was a dedicated area – the Ocean of Fun – where the little ones could take part in a variety of games and activities.
Together with the Polish Tourism Organisation, the organisers of the Festival prepared a promotional action in the form of a fair game called “PICNIC ON THE ODER Passport to Poland”. It was dedicated especially to children and young people. On this occasion, 1,000 ”passports to Poland” were distributed, in which participants visiting the stands of individual exhibitors could collect commemorative stamps, or “visas to voivodeships”. To get a stamp, at each stand there were sightseeing questions or tasks to be completed for the participants.
Those who collected the right number of visas were able to take part in a prize draw. The lucky winners were presented with tourist gadgets, vouchers to attractions across Poland and other attractive souvenirs to encourage further exploration and discovery of our country.
At the IWW E70 stand there was a hidden seal of the Pomorskie Voivodeship.
A special feature of this year’s Picnic was also the new Polish-German Discover Pomerania zone presenting opportunities for tourism in the Euroregion of Pomerania.
At the gala evening for exhibitors held at the Hotel “Courtyard by Marriott Szczecin City” in Szczecin, the organisers honoured, among others, the exhibitors taking part in the annual Picnic on the Oder. The Pomorskie Voivodeship was also among those honoured for many years of providing inspiration for the use of the International Waterway E70. Of the five voivodeships: Pomorskie, Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Wielkopolskie and Lubuskie, it is Pomorskie that is the coordinator of the IWW E70 agreement. This award was earned by the entire IWW E70 team. A commemorative statuette was received by employees of the Marshal’s Office of the Lubuskie Voivodeship who manned the IWW E70 stand: Małgorzata Rudnicka and Konrad Grzegrzółka.
