Helsinki vs Kraków

Helsinki and Kraków are level on the CIRA Index at 71. Helsinki grades better on 9 measures, Kraków on 4; the same 35 measures from public sources for both.

Scores by each organisation's criteria

• CIRA Index: Helsinki 71, Kraków 71
• OECD: Helsinki 72, Kraków 70
• UN Tourism: Helsinki 70, Kraków 68
• UNDRR: Helsinki 71, Kraków 67

Theme by theme

• Demand and seasonality: Helsinki 67, Kraków 60
• Economy and jobs: Helsinki 83, Kraków 94
• Climate and hazards: Helsinki 80, Kraków 70
• Water and environment: Helsinki 63, Kraków 63
• Community and housing: Helsinki 83, Kraków 83
• Access and continuity: Helsinki 75, Kraków 67

Where Helsinki is stronger

• Largest foreign market: 15 % of international arrivals or nights (City of Helsinki / Visitory, Nordic Tourism Trends, 2024). At or below 15: grade 4/4.
• Hotel bed or room occupancy: 59 % average annual occupancy (City of Helsinki, 'New record: Over 4.55 million overnight stays in Helsinki's accommodation establishments in 2024', 2024). Between 55 and 65: grade 2/4.
• Income per head: 70,915 GDP per capita, USD PPP (region figure) (OECD Regional Statistics via OECD.Stats, 2022). At or above 60,000: grade 4/4.
• Wildfire and storm hazard: medium (region figure) (World Bank GFDRR ThinkHazard, current (retrieved 2026)). Grade 2/4.
• Country disaster risk: 2 INFORM Risk index, 0–10 (country figure) (INFORM Risk (European Commission JRC), INFORM Risk Mid 2026, 2026). At or below 2: grade 4/4.
• Green space: 44 % of the urban area that is green or tree-covered (Husqvarna Urban Green Space Index (HUGSI), 2024). At or above 40: grade 4/4.
• Short-let density: 0.7 short-term rental listings per 100 dwellings (Airbtics / City of Helsinki (Kaupunkitieto), 2024–2026). Between 0.5 and 1: grade 3/4.
• Access redundancy: 4 independent ways in: international airport, intercity rail, port, motorway (metro figure) (City of Helsinki / Helsinki Region Transport / Finavia / Port of Helsinki, 2026). At or above 4: grade 4/4.
• Government effectiveness: 97.6 World Bank WGI percentile rank, 0–100 (country figure) (World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators, 2025). At or above 80: grade 4/4.

Where Kraków is stronger

• Average length of stay: 2.2 nights per visitor (Urząd Statystyczny w Krakowie, Biuletyn Statystyczny Krakowa (IV kwartał 2023), 2023). Between 2.2 and 2.8: grade 2/4.
• Unemployment rate: 2.8 % of the labour force (Statistical Office in Kraków / Enter Poland, April 2026). At or below 5: grade 4/4.
• Wastewater safely treated: 98.5 % of domestic wastewater safely treated (Urząd Miasta Krakowa, Kraków w liczbach 2024, 2024). At or above 95: grade 4/4.
• Tourism intensity: 4.5 visitor nights per resident per year (Statistics Poland (GUS) Local Data Bank (BDL) & Urząd Miasta Krakowa, 2024). At or below 5: grade 4/4.

Country context (World Economic Forum)

• Finland: #19 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026
• Poland: #28 of 110 in the WEF Travel & Tourism Development Index 2026

Helsinki in full · Kraków in full

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