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dr Arkadiusz Niedziolka ©
University of Agriculture in Cracow, Poland The Faculty of Agriculture and Economics Department of Sociology and Rural Development 31 - 120 Krakow, Al. Mickiewicza 21. Poland.
SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AS AN INNOVATIVE ATTITUDE TO TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN POLAND
Abstract: In the article the author presents sustainable tourism as an innovative attitude to tourism development in Poland. Such understood tourism should be organized according to the rules of sustainable development. The author presents different forms of sustainable tourism in Poland, among them agritourism, ecoagritourism and ecotourism. There is a mention about traditional products, which can be additional factor to develop sustainable tourism, too.
Key words: sustainable tourism, agritourism, ecoagritourism, ecotourism, environment protection, traditional products
Introduction
Tourism is travel for recreational or leisure purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visited". Tourism has become a popular global leisure activity. In 2007, there were over 903 million international tourist arrivals, with a growth of 6.6% as compared to 2006. International tourist receipts were USD 856 billion in 2007Sustainable tourism is a form of tourism that follows the principles of sustainability [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism].
Attracting a high volume of tourists can have negative impacts, too. It can be observe in the sphere of environment pollution, crowded regions, big noise. In some places tourism development can cause more disadvantages than advantages.
Judging from this way of understanding tourism it is very important to develop all kinds of tourism according to the rules of sustainable development. Sustainable tourism in its purest sense, is an industry committed to making a low impact on the natural environment and local culture, while helping to generate income and employment for locals. There can be various forms of sustainable tourism in rural areas.
Task, the aim of the article
The aim of the article is the presence the role of sustainable development in the process of tourism development in Poland. Sustainable tourism means such form of tourism which takes care of the environment, makes profits to local society, local
© Arkadiusz Niedziolka, 2008
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economy and keeps cultural - historical heritage. Tourism development ought to consist in this way.
Definition of sustainable tourism
Sustainability is defined in many ways but most definitions encompass:
- Living within the limits of nature,
- Understanding the interconnections among economy, society, and environment,
- Equitable distribution of resources and opportunities.
The Global Development Research Center sets out these key principles of sustainable tourism, principles that we encourage you to follow both within your own communities, as well as when you travel abroad:
- Minimize environmental impacts using benchmarks,
- Improve contribution to local sustainable development,
- Require lowest possible consumption of non-renewable resources,
- Sustain the well-being of local people,
- Stress local ownership,
- Support efforts to conserve the environment,
- Contribute to biodiversity.
Sustainable tourism is in opposition to traditional tourism, referred to as mass tourism, which violates the state of equilibrium in nature and has no regard for the requirements of the natural environment. Sustainable management in tourism entails, first of all, economical management of natural environment resources and space as well as utilization of the existing tourist and paratourist infrastructure (table 1).
Table 1.
The difference between conventional and sustainable management of tourism _development_
Conventional management Sustainable management
Unplanned tourist development Planning first - then development
Each commune plans separately Planning for entire regions
Disordered urban development - all over the place Concentration of urban development, saving the land
Town architecture different from the local building style Architecture typical for the surrounding area (form and raw materials)
Exploiting particularly valuable landscapes Leaving particularly valuable landscapes intact
Building new infrastructure, new accommodation places, More effective utilization of the existing infrastructure,
Leaving tourism development in the hands of outside promoters, Local population has the right to decide and participate in tourism,
Taking into account economic benefits only Carrying out an analysis of benefits and losses, with consideration for all the economic, ecological and social aspects
Creating a base for private vehicle traffic Promoting public and alternative transport (e.g. bicycles, carts, sleighs)
Saurce: Zarçba D., Ekoturystyka, Warszawa 2006.
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In the opinion of Gromkowski [2002] management of tourism in an environment of sustainable development requires compliance with certain rules, which include the protection and sustained utilization of natural, cultural and social resources, and an interdisciplinary approach to tourism management. Moreover, the author mentions long - term planning, consisting in the harmonizations of tourism development plans with strategic solutions for most areas (commune, region, state), as well as the participation of the local economy and population in the development of tourism.
On the other hand, according to D. Zareba [2006], the management of sustainable tourism in all sectors of the tourist industry comes down to four general principles:
- ensuring the protection and sustainable use of natural, cultural and social resources,
- an interdisciplinary approach to tourism management - the interest of various entities are involved in the development of tourism: state administration, local self - goverments, entrepreneurs, NGOs, consumers and local community,
- support of the local economy and the participation of the local community in the development of tourism - the tourism in the region should be based first of all on locally, available resources and on the initiative of the local population, ensuring financial benefits to the inhabitants and carring for a broadly understood quality of life(health, cleanliness, safety, etc.).
Global economists forecast continuing international tourism growth, ranging between three and six percent annually, depending on the location. As one of the world's largest and fastest growing industries, this continuous growth will place great stress on remaining biologically diverse habitats and indigenous cultures, which are often used to support mass tourism. Tourists who promote sustainable tourism are sensitive to these dangers and seek to protect tourist destinations, and to protect tourism as an industry. Sustainable tourists can reduce the impact of tourism in many ways, including:
- informing themselves of the culture, politics, and economy of the communities visited,
- anticipating and respecting local cultures' expectations and assumptions,
- contributing to intercultural understanding and tolerance,
- supporting the integrity of local cultures by favoring businesses which conserve cultural heritage and traditional values,
- supporting local economies by purchasing local goods and participating with small, local businesses,
- conserving resources by seeking out businesses that are environmentally conscious, and by using the least possible amount of non-renewable resources.
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Different forms of sustainable tourism In Poland
There are many forms of tourism which should be organized according to sustainable development. In Poland, especially such kind of tourism should be organized in rural areas because of keeping clean environment. M. Jalinik [2002] distinguishes four types of such tourism:
- rural tourism - covering all tourism organised in rural areas,
- agritourism - tourism at agricultural farms,
- eco - agritourism - tourism at farms which produce food using ecological methods,
- ecotourism - tourism in environmentally valuable and protected areas.
Ecotourism, also known as ecological tourism, is a form of sustainable tourism, differing by its focus on ecology. Ecotourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth, and learning new ways to live on the planet; typically involving travel to destinations where flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Responsible ecotourism includes programs that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment, and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Therefore, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural factors, an integral part of ecotourism is in the promotion of recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, and creation of economic opportunities for the local communities. Currently, lots of attention is devoted to agritourism, as part of the sustainable development of rural areas and sustainable tourism. The key ecological features of this form of tourism are [Bialobrzeska, Kisiel, Marks, 2000]:
- protection of the natural environment through the promotion of such forms of tourism which are economically productive, socially responsible and friendly to the environment,
- initiating tourism and agricultural activity that is adapted to the environment and the landscape,
- developing the production of food with raised ecological parameters,
- development of the infrastructure that supports the ecological patterns of tourism (transport, energy, production, waste, sewerage and water management, etc.),
- maintaining the integrity of the landscape, cultural values and the attractiveness of the locality and the surrounding areas.
Agritourism is a style of vacation that normally takes place on a farm. This may include the chance to help with farming tasks during the visit. Agritourism is wide-spread and includes any farm open to the public at least part of the year. Tourists can pick fruits and vegetables, ride horses, taste honey, learn about wine, shop in farm gift shops and farm stands for local and regional produce or hand-crafted gifts.
Number of agritourism farms in
Poland is presented in table 2.
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Table 2.
Number of agritourism farms in Poland in 2006.
Voivodeship Number of agritourism farms
dolnosl^skie 481
kujawsko - pomorskie 273
lubelskie 275
lubuskie 133
lodzkie 125
malopolskie 1220
mazowieckie 276
opolskie 101
podkarpackie 1016
podlaskie 519
pomorskie 601
sl^skie 334
swi^tokrzyskie 313
warminsko - mazurskie 673
wielkopolskie 432
zachodniopomorskie 442
Total: 7214
Saurce: on the base of Institute of Tourism researches
Ecoagritourism is a kind of agritourism which is characteristic of cultivation soil and produce food by means of organic methods (in farms which possess certificate or being in the course of conversion [Zariba 2006]. The Agricultural Advisory Centre in Brwinow made efforts to achieve to form all - Poland base of ecoagritourism farms. This base is being formed free for farmers and is provided on the Internets' side: www.eko.radom.com.pl. Nowadays the base consists of 158 ecoagritourism farms (table 3).
Table 3.
Number of ecoagritourism farms in individual voivodeship in Poland in 2007
Voivodeship Number of ecoagritourism farms
dolnosl^skie 25
kujawsko - pomorskie 3
lubelskie 3
lubuskie 2
lodzkie 0
malopolskie 29
mazowieckie 6
opolskie 8
podkarpackie 4
podlaskie 11
pomorskie 0
sl^skie 5
swi^tokrzyskie 33
warminsko - mazurskie 18
wielkopolskie 1
zachodniopomorskie 10
Saurce: on the base of: http://www.eko.radom.com.pl/bga/index.php
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Most of farms (61%) which promote in Internet is located on mountain areas, namely in voivodeship:: swi^tokrzyskie, malopolskie, dolnosl^skie, podkarpackie and sl^skie. It is worth mentioning that the number of ecoagritourism farms givet at the side of Agricultural Advisory Centre doesn't express the size of this phenomenon.
Agriecotourism farms in Poland belong to organization ECEAT-Poland. It is non-profit, charitable and educational association. It co-operates with professional tourist agencies that include ECEAT-Poland accommodations in their programmes. Its members are mainly organic farmers - over 150 members - who welcome tourists on their farms [http://www.poland.eceat.org/members.htm]. With this ECEAT-Poland, the European Centre for Ecological Agriculture and Tourism in Poland, website to point out some of the best places. A tourist can spend his holidays on one or more farms where farming is done on a small scale and in an environmentally friendly way or perhaps he or she will stay in small bed & breakfasts, often in people's own homes, in cottages or on small campgrounds. Most of farms' accommodations are in rural areas, where few other tourists come.
Traditional products are elements which can be right factors to sustainable development in Poland. They are defined as foodstuffs protected according to European Union rules. They are made from traditional resources which have traditional composition of ingredients or traditional way of production.
Number of traditional products according to voivodeships is presented in table
4.
Table 4.
Number of traditional products in individual voivodeship in Poland
Voivodeship Number of traditional products
dolnosl^skie 9
kujawsko - pomorskie 10
lubelskie 39
lubuskie 6
lodzkie 10
malopolskie 26
mazowieckie 8
opolskie 43
podkarpackie 62
podlaskie 35
pomorskie 64
sl^skie 70
swi^tokrzyskie 15
warminsko - mazurskie 4
wielkopolskie 44
zachodniopomorskie 4
Saurce: on the base of data from Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development
Conclusions
Tourism should be developed according to the rules of sustainable development. There are many kinds of tourism which are taken up by many tourists, both Poles and foreigners. Sustainable tourism is a very important attitude in widely
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understood different kinds of tourism development. In this case there are some rules which should be kept. One the most important thing is taking care of the environment. It is very important not to pollute it. Moreover, economic profits and keeping cultural heritage are essential aspects, too. Besides, tourists satisfaction must be one of the most important thing in sustainable tourism development.
Literature
1. Bialobrzeska R., Kisiel R., Marks R., Rola i miejsce agroturystyki w ekorozwoju wsi [w:] Roczniki Naukowe Stowarzyszenia Ekonomistow Rolnictwa i Agrobiznesu Tom II Zeszyt 2. Wies Jutra Sp. z o. o., Warszawa -Poznan - Zamosc 2000, s. 10.
2. Gromkowski R., Zarz^dzanie turystyk^ w warunkach rozwoju zrownowazonego [w:] Marketing produktow turystycznych, Politechnika Bialostocka, Bialystok 2004, s. 102 - 103.
3. Jalinik M., Agroturystyka na obszarach przyrodniczo cennych, Wydawnictwo Politechniki Bialostockiej, Bialystok 2002, s. 14 -15.
4. Zariba D., Ekoturystyka, Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa 2006, s. 39, 52.
Internet addresses
www.eko.radom.com.pl. http://www.eko.radom.com.pl/bga/index.php http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism http://www.poland.eceat.org/members.htm
Cmammx nadiumna do peda^ii 20.09.2008
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