Active recreation for Poles is gaining in importance
The growing popularity of the sports tourism segment is a global trend. The World Economic Forum’s report “Sports for People and Planet” from January 2026 indicates that this segment reached a value of USD 672 billion last year. and after the COVID-19 pandemic, it became the fastest growing branch of the tourism industry. In 2025, sports tourism accounted for 10%. global travel spending, and its revenues grew by an average of 28%. annually from 2020, while overall tourism – by 22%.
– During the holidays, our card users willingly use the domestic offer, also outside their place of residence. Now, both during holidays and business trips, they will be able to take advantage of a variety of sports activities and get to know a given country also through the prism of popular local sports disciplines. – Kinga Kołodziej, director of the Customer Relations Department at Benefit Systems SA, tells the Newseria agency.
MultiSport abroad – new opportunities for users
The MultiSport program operates on six markets: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Bulgaria and Turkey, and thanks to the introduction of international card acceptance, it now provides access to over 11,000. sports and recreation facilities in all these markets. The new functionality means that program users can use sports facilities outside the country on the same terms as at home.
– According to data from the Central Statistical Office, all markets where MultiSport operates are in the top ten tourist destinations chosen by Poles. – says Kinga Kołodziej.
The solution can be used by users who have a virtual card with a confirmed identity in the mobile application.
– We are very satisfied with the implementation of this ambitious and complex project. The implemented functionality is intuitive and convenient from the perspective of users and customers who, in order to benefit from international visits, do not have to make any changes to benefit packages – emphasizes Anna Bieńkowska, director of MultiSport product development at Benefit Systems. You can search for available properties using the International Visits Map feature in the app.
– This is a natural stage of development for us and another step in the implementation of the group’s business strategy for 2025–2027. This assumes strengthening the position of the undisputed leader in the sports card market, not only in Poland but also abroad. – points out Emilia Rogalewicz, member of the management board of Benefit Systems SA.
Today, the MultiSport program has a practical, unified international scope, and its users have an offer of a unique scale and accessibility
Employee mobility and the bleisure trend are driving activity
The international development of the card is also in line with trends related to employee mobility and the growing importance of leading a healthy and active lifestyle.
– Last year, changes to the regulations came into force facilitating the so-called short-term and long-term mobility within the European Union for high-class specialists. The EU Blue Card is intended to increase the number of temporary transfers between company branches. Trends such as “bleisure”, i.e. combining business trips with a few days of relaxation, are also important. – reminds Kinga Kołodziej.
Physical activity as regeneration and health prevention
Data from the Central Statistical Office show that in 2024, Poles made nearly 1.5 million business trips abroad. Every fifth of them lasted from two to four days, and approximately 100,000 the journey took five days or more.
Research commissioned by the MultiSport program shows that physical activity is one of the most frequently chosen forms of recreation. 60 percent Poles consider exercise an effective way to relax, and 55 percent last year’s holidays were planned to be spent actively. Experts emphasize that this is of great preventive importance. As indicated by the World Health Organization, physical activity helps reduce the risk of many lifestyle diseases, including: heart disease and stroke and type 2 diabetes. The report “Benefits of physical activity of Polish women and men – assessment of the impact on health, economy and labor market”, prepared by the Institute of Structural Research on behalf of Benefit Systems, shows that if every second physically inactive resident of Poland started exercising, the total number of days of sickness absence would decrease by 14.6 million days, which in financial terms would translate into savings of PLN 1.9 billion.
Active rest is also perceived as an element of regeneration after work. According to 96 percent For MultiSport program users, an active form of recreation helps them cope better with professional challenges after returning to their duties.
Program users can take advantage of various forms of physical activity available in the network of partner sports facilities. The offer includes, among others: gyms, fitness clubs, swimming pools, dance schools and team sports classes. Many places also offer activities specific to a given country or region.
Source: Newseria
