New Trends in Tourism 2025: Bold Moves, Fresh Ideas from Gdańsk

A trip to Gdańsk always feels so refreshing! The city serves visitors with its customary greeting, a gust of a recharged breeze and persistent seagulls’ alarm straight from the Baltic Sea. Crucial for the generation and re-generation of thought-provoking ideas, this ultimate Baltic destination in Europe and the capital of Pomerania is a premium torchbearer of Polish tourism.

I was invited by the Gdańsk Convention Bureau over the past weekend to attend the 15th edition of the “New Trends in Tourism 2025” conference at the European Solidarity Centre Gdańsk. An exclusive event on Poland’s tourism industry calendar, New Trends in Tourism brings top tourism industry leaders, change-makers, researchers and experts under one roof.

Image courtesy: Lubie Podroze

The idea is to share learning, insights, and intriguing takes on the most significant advancements in the tourism industry. In my opinion, there couldn’t be a better host than Gdańsk to network, learn, and grow. Among the most frequently travelled cities for private tours in Poland, I see Tricity leading global tourism initiatives from the front.

Gdańsk is a part of the reputed GDS-Movement (Global Destination Sustainability). GDS-Movement is a pioneering, data-driven international change agency that acts to catalyse socio-economic and environmental transformation in cities and regions across the world. With the mission to empower tourism and events professionals, it facilitates the right mindsets, skill sets, and tool sets to co-create more regenerative and resilient destinations to visit, meet, and live in.

As a first timer at NTT (Nowe Trendy w Turystyce 2025), I was stunned by the variety of carefully chosen topics critical to the tourism industry. The organisers – the Gdańsk Convention Bureau- made sure to convene leading Polish and international experts, tackle pressing industry topics, and foster meaningful discussions instrumental in shaping the future of tourism.

Packed with a series of thought-provoking topics, fun and artsy workshops, and great food, the NTT 2025 conference had it all!

Sharing some of my main takeaways from the NTT Conference Gdansk!

How Culinary Tourism Shapes Poland’s Global Appeal

Polish gastronomy took centre stage at this year’s conference. Renowned Polish chef Bogdan Gałązka emphasised the richness of Polish cuisine, describing it as butter-based, plant-forward, and deeply rooted in history. After all, it’s important to debunk common misconceptions.

Image courtesy: Lubie Podroze

Gdańsk’s designation as the European Capital of Gastronomic Culture (March 2024–March 2026) further underscored the city’s role in shaping the culinary tourism landscape. The panel discussion, “Culinary Branding of Destinations – How Gastronomy Attracts Tourists and Drives Revenue,” featured industry leaders such as Maciej Dobrzyniecki, Michał Stężalski, and Mateusz Ciołko, highlighting how food tourism can be leveraged for economic growth.

Sustainability: A Challenge and an Opportunity

Image courtesy: Lubie Podroze

Challenge opens the right doors for opportunity! Sustainability was a key theme, with a standout presentation by Guy Bigwood, CEO of GDS-Movement. His session focused on sustainable urban development, emphasising the need for cities to balance the needs of residents and visitors alike.

Joining the ranks of Gdańsk and Kraków, Szczecin and Wrocław have shown Poland’s commitment to the GDS-Index. A subtle signal that Poland is embedding sustainability in its tourism strategies, aligning with global best practices!

The Power of Creative Destination Marketing

Image courtesy: Lubie Podroze

Barbara Jamison-Woods’ presentation from City Destinations Alliance/City DNA and London & Partners highlighted “How Destinations Can Strengthen Their Marketing Efforts Through Best Practices Sharing”. She presented inspiring examples of successful campaigns and collaboration models.

The next series of presentations and panels focused on the perfect recipe for viral destination marketing campaigns! Right research, creative freedom, courage and a leap of faith- that’s all it takes to turn your average destination marketing campaign viral on the internet.

Expectations vs. Reality – A Bold Marketing Campaign by Go Vilnius

In a hard-hitting brand marketing move, Lithuanians dared to break the stereotype through a bold marketing campaign from Vilnius tourism, the “Expectations vs. Reality” marketing campaign. Urtė Daknytė from Go Vilnius shared insights into its creation and the controversies it sparked.

Analysis indicated that the campaign would resonate well in the German and UK markets, so it did. The promotional video garnered 2.2 million organic views, with 85% of viewers watching it till the end. Additionally, the campaign reached an extra 446 million people through 80 international media publications.

Some backlash aside, the campaign achieved its objectives and proved that a bold, humorous approach in tourism marketing can be highly effective.

Is Poland ready for such a hard-hitting yet quirky campaign? Let me know in the comments below!

Halfdan’s Summer in Oslo

This one was my absolute favourite, presented by Tord Baklund from VisitOslo. So nonchalant! It began with: I wouldn’t come here, to be honest. Oslo is just not … I mean, is it even a city? It was Halfdan’s Summer campaign from VisitOslo. Oslo’s new tourism ad became a social media sensation.

Tord Baklund shared a sneak peek into the entire campaign and how it exploded on the internet, leaving them all amazed. Created by a team of just three people, this budget campaign outranked the big global brands before becoming an Internet sensation.

The video received 6.5 million hits on VisitOslo’s social media (500,000 reactions, 5,000-plus comments). It went viral on Twitter, garnering 25 million views.

This ad campaign grew so big that even Norway’s Prime Minister joined it, expanding the reach further.

Social Media’s Growing Influence in Hospitality

68% of guests discover hotels and restaurants through social media, and the time between first following a profile and making a reservation ranges from two to four months. Patrycja Brychcy, an expert in hotel industry transformations, shared several crucial insights pinpointing the role of social media in enabling tourists’ decision-making while on holiday.

Her presentation, “Don’t Create but Document – The Authenticity Revolution in Hotel and Restaurant Social Media,” emphasised the importance of documenting daily operations rather than creating artificial content.

Accessible Tourism – An Opportunity

The presentation from Filip and Łukasz Wysocki proved that accessible tourism is the need of the hour and needs to be discussed more. Their presentation, “Amor Fati in Accessibility: Embracing Diversity as a Path to Profit in Tourism,” emphasised that disability can’t stop you in your pursuits.

They demonstrated how small changes can make tourism more inclusive and highlighted an important fact: travellers with disabilities often travel in larger groups, creating additional economic potential for the industry.

To make tourism more accessible, we must prioritise the removal of physical infrastructure barriers, as they are the easiest obstacles to overcome. As Filip and Łukasz pointed out, many accessibility improvements cost nothing, aside from a shift in awareness.

Economic Impact of Events

Image courtesy: Lubie Podroze

The conference concluded with an insightful panel discussion titled “Economic Impact of Events: How to Measure and Leverage Their Potential?” featuring experts including Katarzyna Nałysz-Safuryn, Paweł Orłowski, Arkadiusz Hronowski, and Krzysztof Celuch.

The discussion underscored the importance of data-driven decision-making in the tourism and MICE sectors, equipping industry professionals with actionable strategies to maximize event ROI.

Gdańsk Stocznia and European Solidarity Centre

Set inside the massive 100cznia Inside venue, the #NTT25 networking evening showed the class and state-of-the-art technology of the legendary European Solidarity Centre. A historical landmark that led to the collapse of communism in Poland, it is now a world-class museum and an excellent venue for hosting high-profile global-scale events.

The organisers created a special exhibition showcasing Gdańsk’s “Authentically Gdańsk” campaign. It added an edgy touch to the energy of the event. After all, pictures and social media tags play a significant role in making any campaign a big HIT!!

My final word of appreciation for the organisers

Visit Gdańsk (Gdańsk Tourism Organization) and Gdańsk Convention Bureau

A big thanks for creating an extraordinary event. With a line-up of thought-provoking sessions, strategic insights, and invaluable networking opportunities, NTT25 yet again established why it remains an unmissable conference for Poland’s MICE industry professionals.

I look forward to seeing how these discussions shape the future of tourism! Coming back next year! 🙂

#newtrendsintourism #discoverpoland #gdansk #ThinkMICE

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Gdańsk isn’t just a top conference destination — it’s a coastal gem with a rich history, vibrant culture, and timeless appeal. Whether you’re visiting Gdańsk for business or leisure, you’ll find there’s much more to explore. Curious what makes it truly shine? Check out this Gdańsk travel guide.