Polish Pass – key to a stress-free UEFA EURO 2012

Wojciech Folejewski, operations director of PL.2012, the arm of the Polish Ministry of Sport and Tourism devoted to UEFA EURO 2012, tells UEFA.com about the Polish Pass, an offer designed to help visitors to plan and arrange accommodation, transport and travel insurance.

UEFA.com: What is the Polish Pass?

Wojciech Folejewski: The Polish Pass is a very useful tool for visitors. When a tourist is planning a trip to Poland he can use the pass to book accommodation, purchase travel to and around Poland, as well as using public transportation in the host cities. The service also includes medical insurance for Polish hospitals.

UEFA.com: How does the Polish Pass fit into the general service prepared by PL.2012?

Folejewski: The Polish Pass is part of the Polish Guide which provides tips on where to go, what to see, how to travel and much more. Both services are tailored for UEFA EURO 2012, because during the tournament there will be a lot of things – especially with transport – valid only for the duration of the tournament.

The Polish Guide website has a number of useful features, such as an event calendar to be updated daily giving fans suggestions on how to spend their time, such as on the morning or early afternoon of a match day. The Polish Guide also features a route planner, so fans can work out how to get from A to B, by transport or on foot.

UEFA.com: How can fans from all over the world use the service?

Folejewski: The Polish Pass works like an e-shop, and is already available in two languages, though we are working on expanding that. The user can choose from accommodation, flights, trains, transport in host cities and medical insurance. If someone is bringing their own car to Poland they may not need transport, but they may book a hotel or insurance.

The items are added to a basket, and after payment there will be a special document generated which details all the services booked. You will need to print this document and produce it on trains, hotels, etc. For public transport in host cities, there is a special price of 12 PLN (€2.90) per day.

UEFA.com: Is everything in place for the Polish Pass in Poland?

Folejewski: We will train all employees in the public transport system, hospitals and so on, to ensure they know about it. To avoid language problems, we will put multilingual volunteers in all hospitals recommended to fans to help with communication.

UEFA.com: Are you planning on expanding the service before EURO?

Folejewski: In May we will release a Polish Guide application for mobile devices which will work in much the same way as the web service. This should provide further comfort for visiting fans. Imagine that a fan forgets the name of the street their hotel is on – in this case, you need only touch the My Hotel icon on your smartphone and show it to the taxi driver.

For more information on the Polish Pass, or if you wish to sign up for the service, follow this link