Polish National Tourism Propaganda 1918–1939: Laying the Foundations for Theory and Practice of PR in Europe.

Purpose
Following the First World War, the newly independent Polish state was confronted with political, military and economic challenges. One of the tasks involved fostering a strong national identity among citizens inhabiting regions that had recently been annexed to Poland. This led to the acquisition of the Polish travel agency Orbis, which was founded as a private enterprise in Lviv in 1920 (Orbis, 1973). In 1933, the company was taken over by the state with the help of the P.K.O. Bank. Orbis was responsible for organising various aspects of tourism and promoting Poland both domestically and internationally. It became the largest travel agency in the country, operating joint-stock company offices in Poland and abroad, including in London, Brussels, New York, and Tel Aviv. However, Orbis's responsibilities towards the state incorporated a much wider range of propaganda activities.
This research paper aims to understand the scope, quality and character of the propaganda activities of Polish tourism organisations using a fact-based approach (Bentele, 2013). Secondly, the project aims to identify evidence of links between interwar Polish tourism propaganda and modern PR practice as part of a previously hidden layer of historiography of Polish PR development.

Methodology
This project adopted the historical case study as a methodological approach (Buchnea, 2023) and is based upon a systematic analysis of archival sources, including a 167-page Orbis manual on tourism services and propaganda (1938a), Orbis annual reports (Orbis, 1938b), and a previously uncovered monograph Tourism Propaganda (Fularski, 1939). Historical promotional materials collateral produced by the Polish Tourist Organisation, the League of Tourism Support and various Polish Propaganda Associations were examined to provide a comprehensive perspective based on original sources.

Findings
Archival evidence suggests that Orbis implemented an advanced system for planning, executing and monitoring propaganda activities from 1920 onwards which included many features of modern PR practice. The primary objective of Orbis propaganda was to foster an understanding among press representatives that the organisation is a national travel agency that implements the country’s tourism policy objectives, rather than a business designed to generate profit for private individuals.
The professionalisation of propaganda activities is also evident in the scope and level of detail of the internal archive document, ‘Report of the Polish Travel Agency Orbis in Warsaw on its activities in 1938’ (Orbis, 1938b). Orbis’s propaganda activities appear to resemble well-recognised PR tools used in media relations. The report also contained examples of the planned integration of marketing and PR activities: it recommended combining advertisements with press mentions, seeking barter-type agreements, monitoring competitor activities, and daily media monitoring and press clipping activities.
The definition of a press campaign, initially consisting of mentions and editorial articles or paid advertisements discussing Orbis's activities, was significantly expanded.
Further evidence of Orbis's professional PR approach can be found in the way it held the address details of 22,000 social institutions, associations and public places, through which it distributed approximately one million brochures and leaflets.
Orbis evaluated the outcomes of its press propaganda activities by measuring output, outcomes and combining information regarding publicity and profit. For example, the “millimetrage” (total press coverage in millimetres) of press mentions and articles was monitored, with an increase of 30% observed between 1937 and 1938 (from 198,000 to 292,000 mm).

Implications
This paper advances the understanding of Polish tourism propaganda as an example of transitional public relations (Ławniczak, 2001), which originated during the formation of the new Polish state in interwar Europe (1918–1939). The level of strategic planning, scope of activities, and evaluation methods suggest that an advanced PR practice existed in Poland prior to 1939. Although this practice was referred to as propaganda at the time, the term had positive connotations and implied its roots in sociology, psychology, and public opinion science. In addition to advancing PR historiography, archive sources suggest the existence of a coordinated framework of local and national institutions subsidised by the Polish government. This framework gave rise to a highly specialised branch of tourism propaganda that could be considered tourism public relations in present-day terms. The theoretical works of Fularski, director of Orbis, can be seen as the first comprehensive elaboration of the theory and practice of tourism PR in Europe. Lastly, the research project's findings further support earlier claims of a link between the Polish military and the development of the commercial PR sector in Poland.