Eastern Polish regions distribute thousands of 300 PLN tourist vouchers in minutes

Rapid distribution in Lubelskie and Podlaskie

Regional tourism organisations in eastern Poland opened the second October intake for accommodation subsidies on 1 October 2026, with thousands of digital vouchers claimed within minutes. In the Lubelskie voivodeship, all 4,700 available vouchers were taken during the registration window, drawing 1.1 million visitors to the official website in just five minutes. In the neighbouring Podlaskie voivodeship, tourists generated more than 5,800 accommodation checks through the podlaskiczekturystyczny.pl platform in under twenty minutes. Both regional schemes are designed to stimulate travel demand and show that eastern Poland remains safe and accessible for recreation despite geopolitical tensions near the border.

Rafał Kamieniecki, president of the Lublin Regional Tourism Organisation, commented on the public response following the conclusion of the second intake.

Interest was enormous again.

Category breakdown and intake speeds

The 4,700 vouchers in Lubelskie were divided across three demographic categories, each seeing rapid depletion. General adult applicants aged 18 and older exhausted their pool of 1,100 vouchers in less than one minute. Applicants registering under the Large Family Card program claimed 1,134 vouchers in two minutes and 50 seconds. Senior citizens secured the largest allocation of 2,469 vouchers in approximately five minutes.

In Podlaskie, the Podlaskie Regional Tourism Organisation recorded similar uptake speeds across applicant groups. Individual adult tourists claimed over 1,600 vouchers in less than two minutes from the opening of registration. Senior citizens generated over 2,600 checks in slightly more than 11 minutes, and Large Family Card holders completed over 1,600 voucher requests in just over 17 minutes.

Program terms and participating facilities

Each voucher offers a one-time 300 PLN subsidy toward lodging expenses. To redeem the discount, participants must log in to the regional system, receive a generated code, and book a stay of at least two consecutive nights at registered hospitality businesses. In Podlaskie, visitors can apply the subsidy across a catalog of more than 400 participating lodging venues. The vouchers generated on 1 October remain valid for travel throughout October 2026. The Podlaskie marshal's office announced that a subsequent intake will take place on 2 November 2026 for November stays. System logs showed wide interest across Poland, with the highest participation from residents of the Mazowieckie, Podlaskie, Lubelskie, Łódzkie, Śląskie, Warmińsko-Mazurskie, and Pomorskie voivodeships.

Government funding and regional context

The voucher programs are co-financed by regional self-governments and the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. The ministry allocated 1.5 million PLN to regional tourism organisations in four eastern border voivodeships: Warmińsko-Mazurskie, Podlaskie, Lubelskie, and Podkarpackie. At the regional level, the Lubelskie self-government provided 1.5 million PLN of its own funds, alongside 1 million PLN from the ministry, while Podlaskie set an initial budget of 800,000 PLN for its October distribution. Ministry funding subsidises accommodation for seniors and Large Family Card holders, while regional authorities finance vouchers for general adult tourists.

The government introduced the initiative following statements in February 2026 by Deputy Minister of Sport and Tourism Ireneusz Raś. He noted that the war in Ukraine had caused several eastern regions to be perceived as potentially unsafe, leading to lower tourist traffic. Podlaskie had previously launched an initial regional voucher scheme in 2025 before adopting the current co-funded model.