Krakow has been one of Europe’s popular tourist destinations for many years. The city tempts tourists above all with its low prices for hotels, restaurants and services. Why is Cracow cheap? Why is Krakow a cheap city?
From the perspective of a statistical inhabitant of Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Sweden or the United States, Krakow is one of the cheapest cities to visit in Europe. Why is this so?
Prices in Krakow are low for one very simple reason. Poles are a poor nation from a country originating from the so-called Eastern Bloc. Poles do not earn much. The average salary in Poland in July 2022 was PLN 6777, which is only EUR 1435.
Many Poles do not even earn this amount and it is not unusual for people to earn as little as PLN 4,000 or around EUR 850.
Although the average earnings in Kraków are slightly higher than the national average, the inhabitants of Kraków are still a long way from the earnings of inhabitants of London or Amsterdam.
It is worth remembering that for an average Pole holidays in Krakow are quite expensive, but for foreign tourists it is one of the cheapest cities providing a decent level of services, restaurants or hotels not differing from the standards of developed Western European countries. In Krakow it is much cheaper than in Western Europe to find good quality restaurants, good hotels or services such as a dentist or hairdresser. Compared to Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris or Vienna, prices here can be half or even lower!
It is also worth remembering that low prices in Krakow from the perspective of tourists are also influenced by the exchange rate of the Polish zloty. The Polish currency, i.e. the Polish zloty, is one of the weaker currencies in Europe, hence its low exchange rate to such currencies as the Swiss franc, the euro, the US dollar or the British pound.
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