Najem krótkoterminowy w Polsce w czasie pandemii COVID-19

Abstract

Tourism statistics based on surveying accommodation providers ignore many categories of tourists, e.g. VFR and second home tourists. The article concerns a growing category of “invisible” accommodation – apartments for short-term tourist rentals. The aim is to analyze the distribution and changes in the supply and demand for tourist apartments in Poland before and during the COVID-19 pandemic (from 2019 to the end of 2021). Use was made of data from Airbnb and Vrbo platforms. The apartments account for a significant proportion of tourist accommodation in Poland: there is one bed-place in tourist apartments (in Krakow and Tricity – up to 3–4) per five registered bed-places. Although tourist apartments are concentrated in cities, their number is increasing in mountainous, coastal, and lakeland regions. The decrease in tourist trips caused by the pandemic was less noticeable in apartments than in the conventional accommodation facilities. The number of guests in urban apartments declined deeply, while in other areas, tourists spend more nights in tourist apartments in 2021 than before the pandemic. The number of available apartments adapts itself to the changing demand faster than the capacity of conventional accommodation. The work confirms the need to include tourist apartments in statistical studies and in planning tourism and spatial policy.