Rafał Szmytke, Prorector of the Vistula School of Hospitality is the laureate of the “Rzeczpospolita” Eagles of Tourism
‘Ten Eagles of Tourism’: ’Rzeczpospolita’ prizes, established this year, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Tourism.rp.pl website, – went to the grateful hands of eminent representatives of the tourism industry. Among the winners was Rafał Szmytke, Prorector of the Vistula School of Hospitality. The awards are an honour for special achievements in the tourism business and promotion of Polish tourism, as well as for activities within the tourism industry.
As the editor of the Turystyka.rp.pl site, Filip Frydrykiewicz said, the ’Rzeczpospolita’ Eagles of Tourism, honoured people, thanks to whom, Polish tourism presents itself on a high European level. They are distinguished by their work, creativity, and personality. They set directions and make tourism grow. Rafał Szmytke, Prorector of the Vistula School of Hospitality is among them. Previously, he was the longest-serving President of the Polish Tourism Organisation (2007-2016). In his time, the Polish Tourism Organisation introduced the promotion of Polish tourism to world markets. Among the achievements of his presidency, have been the cruise of the Fryderyk Chopin sailing ship around Europe in 2010, promoting Polish tourism, Poland’s partnership during the largest tourism fairs in the world, ITB Berlin (2011), pioneering links between tourism promotion and major sports events, such as the European Championships in Football (Euro 2012), and forging links with economic events, such as EXPO 2015 in Milan.
– “We realised that in the community of people, who make up Polish tourism, there are many excellent managers, entrepreneurs, people involved in promotion, the existence of which the public does not always know about, and certainly rarely understands how much this branch of the economy owes them”, – Filip Frydrykiewicz declared, during the award ceremony. – “That is why we hope that the ’Rzeczpospolita’ Eagles of Tourism will contribute to expressing appreciation to these people, and will be a form of gratitude to them. At the same time, we hope that the Eagles will draw the public’s attention to all tourism, its high quality, and a significant place in the economy”.
