'Polish plumber' lures tourists to Poland

It was meant as nothing more than an ironic riposte to exaggerated Western European fears of an influx of inexpensive Polish tradesmen.

Unexpectedly, it's turned into the best media campaign Poland has ever produced.

Ahead of France's May 29th referendum on the European Unions proposed blanket constitution, the mythical "Polish plumber" was the most prevalent symbol used by France's "no" camp to raise public anxiety over an influx of low-wage job-seekers from the East, should the proposed constitution be adopted.

'Im staying in Poland - come one, come all' After the plumber proved the nail in the coffin of the failed ballot, officials at the state-run Polish Tourism Organisation (POT) hatched a plan to spice-up the image to Poland's advantage.

Enter a poster of a Polish plumber with a sexed-up wrench.

Hunky, young and oozing testosterone, he grips a rather large wrench and pipes, and sports a seductive gaze, bulging biceps and California beachboy-style sun bleached hair.

Brooding 21-year-old model Piotr Adamski is flanked by photos from cafe life in Krakow's famous Medieval Cloth Hall and Warsaw's Old Town, reconstructed brick by brick after being levelled by Nazi bombs during World War 2.

Designed to make hearts flutter, the caption reads: "I'm staying in Poland - come one, come all". The image was posted on the POT Paris bureau website and within days the media went mad for it.

The spontaneous idea has proved to be the highest profile advertising gimmick ever for Poland as a tourism destination, and was launched on a shoe-string budget.

"The response has been phenomenal", says POT media director Krzysztof Turowski holding a five centimetre thick file with a months press clippings from around the globe and gushing over receiving interview requests from as far afield as Bogota, Columbia.

With the "no" vote against the European Constitution prevailing in France, Turowski jokes: "If France didn't want to give the plumber a job, we thought we ought to."

Moving quickly to capitalise on the exposure, the POT has launched the second leg of its campaign by coupling the hunky Polish plumber with a gorgeous young Polish nurse. The seductive brunette with, a flirtatious smile on her lips, beckons: "I'm waiting for you."

The new poster was unveiled on Monday in Warsaw and is designed to draw attention to Poland's top-grade but still inexpensive spa and health farm facilities. Many a German pensioner has already discovered their benefits.

Twenty-two-year-old model and Warsaw University student Bozena Szwartz admits her medical skills are limited to basic first aid, but says she's more than pleased to be the pretty face of Poland.

In a gesture of solidarity with Londoners and Great Britain after last weeks bomb attacks on the London underground killed at least 52 dead, the nurse does not appear on the website of the Polish National Tourist Office in London.

Instead, a photo of a World War 2 Polish pilot captioned "Londoners, We are with you again!" has been posted, recalling Polish airmen who were prized in Britain during the war for their dangerous bombing missions over Nazi-occupied Europe.

POT President Andrzej Kozlowski also points out the humorous, smart, sexy, spontaneous and low cost media campaign is working wonders to smash the stereotypical image of Poland as a dreary, grey, frigid, poor and crime-infested post-Soviet state renowned for vodka, Lech Walesa and its most famous native son, the late Pope John Paul II.

POT officials admit it is still unclear to what extent the high profile media exposure will pay-off in terms of greater tourist traffic.

But they believe the recent media hype combined with Poland's 2004 entry into the European Union and a new crop of budget airlines with inexpensive connections to Warsaw and other Polish cities will see visitors descending in droves.

Initial numbers for the first quarter of 2005 suggest a tourism boom. According to the POT, the first quarter of the year saw a 12,3 percent rise in the number visitors to Poland compared to the same period last year. There was an especially high influx from France, with tourist traffic up 17,8 percent in the first quarter of 2005 compared to 2004.

The figures suggest 2005 will see more visitors than the 14,3 million tourists who left behind about 5,1-billion last year. The revenue accounted for 6,3 percent of Poland's GDP.

With English, French, Italian, Spanish and German chatter readily heard in Warsaw's central cafes, restaurants and shops and fun-seekers dancing and drinking until dawn in the city's many hot spot clubs, there appears to be ample anecdotal evidence Poland is quickly gaining the reputation of a good-times destination.

By Mary Sibierski