Demography has become one of the final bosses against which different countries are battle. Countries like China and, above all, Japan and South Korea have become the highest exponents when we talk about “demographic crisis”, but There is no need to go to Asia to look at the problem. In Europe, many countries are immersed in this same crisis and, when policies seem not to work, it is private entities that take letters in the matter, as with a hotel chain in Poland.
The demographic engine of countries like Spain is gripped because few babies are born and They are not enough for generational relief. They are also being born more mothers’ babies over 40 years than 25 and it is immigration that is falling a little temporary. This situation is not exclusive to Spain and countries such as Switzerland, Netherlands, Nordic, Belgium or Italy are in our same fertility rate.
Poland is also in that situation, and the owner of a chain of hotels has occurred to him to start rewarding couples who conceive a baby during the stay in one of their hotels.
Come to my hotel, conceive a baby and give you a check
Poland’s fertility rate is on the floor and among the lowest of the European Union block. It is estimated that it was 1.3 children per woman in 2023, being far from the 2.1 children who should have to guarantee that generational relief.
Why is it so important? Japan is already living: without young people, there is no one who works in certain positions, there are elders who must even work after their retirement and the welfare state does not hold, endangering elements such as pensions.
Because the population is dying, the pyramid is invested and, in the case of Poland, the population fell into 123,000 people in 2024. It was the greatest decline among the countries of the European Union… And it occurred for the second consecutive year. In Financial Times we can read that a vicious circle is mounted around this situation, something that even affects the experience that doctors have when helping in delivery. If there are not so many births, they do not gain experience and, when a complicated delivery occurs, they may not know what to do.
The Government has tried to promote birth through aid such as the Rodzina 500+ program that grants a monthly subsidy per son of 800 Zlotys (about 188 euros per month) until it meets the age of majority.
In the same medium we can read the proposal of the Władysław Grocchowski businessman, owner of the Arche chain that operates 23 hotels throughout the country. Your idea? Organize a baptism party or secular celebration For ten babies that have been conceived in one of their hotels, in addition to a 10,000 zlotys check, which are about 2,100 euros. And your company’s 2,000 employees can also access this bonus.
To demonstrate it, interested parents have to present an invoice from the hotel dated, approximately nine months before the birth of their child. Grochowski also comments that, Being at the barrel bottom of the European demographic situationwe must address it as it is and urgently. His proposal is totally seriously, but also comments that it is both an incentive and a humorous marketing maneuver.
Beyond those 2,000 euros or 188 per month of government subsidy, which never come bad, there are those who point out that The real background problem It is one that sounds like the inhabitants of many countries: another crisis, that of housing. The estimate is that the country faces a deficit between 1.5 and 2 million homes, especially in large cities, where the average square meter Price exceeds 1,500 euros.
Up to 16% of the Poles spend more than half of their salary in housing and a third cannot afford to Buy or rent something that meets their needs. It is something that seriously affects young people, that if they do not have money for housing, they also think of having children or changing work for a better one, since they have no stability in the accommodation.
For this, the Government has also promised to invest to create social housing, but it is something that is intended in the future when the problem is present. It is, as we say, a problem that we know well and the fish that bite its tail, complicating good family planning and, in many cases, making the decision to have offspring.
Images | Vitolda Klein
In WorldOfSoftware | Someone believes to know why fertility is collapsing throughout the world: men and women are “better” separately
