Controversial experience tourism in the eyes of generation Y representatives

This paper was written to contribute to the discussion on the perspectives of the development of selected forms of controversial tourism by means of: 1) surveying opinions of Generation Y representatives on how familiar they are with individual forms; 2) determining the responders’ impressions on acceptance of these forms; 3) gathering opinions on the perspectives of development of these forms. The starting point for the discussion is to approach the motives for such travels from the perspective of the concept of experience economy and to limit the research to tourism forms developing in response to the need of novelty, sensations and experiences. The demand factor connected with the need to maximize sensations shaped a specific form of tourism, described in this study as controversial experience tourism. It comprises sex tourism, drug tourism, disaster tourism, extreme tourism, thanatourism, esoteric tourism, urban exploring and poorism. The study was carried out with the help of the CAWI technique between February and May 2018 and involved 407 participants aged 18–26. The obtained results suggest relatively low future interest in forms of tourism that are perceived as strongly controversial. The thirst for new experiences and sensations is fully satisfied by these forms of extreme tourism that are positively perceived and do not arouse ethical controversies.Celem pracy jest włączenie się w dyskusję nad perspektywami rozwoju wybranych form turystyki kontrowersyjnej poprzez: 1) zbadanie opinii przedstawicieli pokolenia Y na temat oceny stopnia znajomości poszczególnych form, 2) określenie odczuć respondentów na temat ich akceptacji, 3) zebranie opinii na temat perspektyw rozwojowych wskazanych form. Punktem wyjścia do dyskusji jest spojrzenie na motywy podejmowanych podróży z perspektywy koncepcji tzw. ekonomii doświadczeń oraz ograniczenie zakresu problemowego do form turystyki rozwijających się pod wpływem potrzeby poszukiwania nowości, wrażeń, doświadczeń. Czynnik popytu związany z potrzebą maksymalizacji wrażeń ukształtował pewną specyficzną grupę form turystyki, określoną na potrzeby analizy jako kontrowersyjna turystyka wrażeń. W jej zakres włączono: turystykę seksualną, narkoturystykę, turystykę katastrof, ekstremalną, tanatoturystykę, turystykę ezoteryczną, urban exploring i poorism. Badanie wykonano z zastosowaniem techniki CAWI, w okresie od lutego do maja 2018 roku z udziałem 407 respondentów w przedziale wiekowym 18–26 lat. Uzyskane wyniki sugerują stosunkowo niewielkie zainteresowanie w przyszłości formami turystyki, które kojarzone są jako silnie kontrowersyjne. Potrzebę zdobywania nowych doświadczeń i wrażeń w pełni zapewniają formy turystyki ekstremalnej, które postrzegane są pozytywnie i nie wywołują kontrowersji natury etycznej

When dreams come true – urban land use and management trends desired by residents and participatory budgeting – a case study in Toruń

Social participation allows public authorities to learn about communities’ views and thus to jointly work out satisfying solutions. The pre-1989 law in Poland generally prevented the possibility of citizens taking part in the making of decisions about the use of public areas. Over the following years participatory decision-making was adopted, which evolved and expanded as new tools were introduced which encourage citizen involvement. The municipality of Toruń adopted a participatory approach to budgeting in 2014 so that the city’s residents could influence the use of public land in their neighbourhoods according to their needs. The total amount of funding spent on participatory budgets between 2014 and 2017 exceeded PLN 26 million. The aim of the study is to prepare a typology of desired changes in the city of Toruń and to identify the level of social participation on the basis of projects nominated for financing from the participatory budget. To this end, the types of projects and the turnout of the residents who voted were analysed by place of residence. The study showed that both the number of nominated projects and the number of voters increased in the years covered by the survey, thus pointing to the success of participatory budgeting, a form of schooling in local democracy, in Toruń

Współpraca partnerska wybranych małych miast w Polsce

Idea miast partnerskich jest koncepcją rozwijaną od czasu zakończenia II wojny światowej. W jej ramach miasta realizują wspólne cele gospodarcze, społeczne czy kulturowe. Do tej pory współpraca partnerska między miastami opisywana była głównie w kontekście miast dużych i średnich. W niniejszym artykule wypełniono lukę w badaniach współpracy międzynarodowej miast małych. Celem opracowania jest określenie ilościowego i przestrzennego wymiaru partnerstw zawartych przez wybrane małe miasta (od 10 000 do 15 000 mieszkańców) w Polsce. Ponadto dokonano oceny znaczenia współpracy partnerskiej oraz zakresu oddziaływania idei miast partnerskich na funkcjonowanie i rozwój małego miasta na przykładzie Nowego Miasta Lubawskiego. Wykazano, że analizowane małe miasta różnicują się pod względem liczby zawartych umów partnerskich, a najczęstszymi partnerami są miasta z najbliższej przestrzeni geograficznej – Niemiec, Czech i Ukrainy. Analiza treści umów partnerskich wskazuje, że cele nawiązywanej współpracy świadczą o bardzo dużym znaczeniu partnerstw dla małych miast w Polsce.The idea of sister cities has been developed since the end of World War II. Within its framework, cities pursue common economic, social or cultural goals. Until now, twinning between cities has been described mainly in the context of large and medium-sized cities. This article fills a gap in research on international cooperation between small towns. The aim of the study was to determine the quantitative and spatial dimension of partnerships concluded by selected small towns (from 10 000 to 15 000 inhabitants) in Poland. The next part of the work was carried out on the example of a small town – Nowe Miasto Lubawskie. The importance of partnership cooperation was evaluated. The impact of the idea of partner cities on the functioning and development of a small town was also assessed. It was shown that analysed small towns differ in terms of the number of partnership agreements signed. The most frequent partners are cities from the nearest geographical area – Germany, Czech Republic and Ukraine. The analysis of partnership agreements shows that the idea of sister cities is very important for small towns in Poland

Tourist potential of a city - a case study of Toruń (Poland)

The presented research aims at analysing and evaluating the subjective reception of the tourist potential of a city by its users – residents and tourists, as well as indicating the qualities (places or symbols) through which it is perceived. This is intended as an assessment of the actions taken in the scope of promoting tourism in the city. The research method related to applying the PAPI method was based on the assumption—present in literature on the subject—that assessing the tourist potential from the perspective of recipients’ impressions may be an alternative to the currently prevalent methods. The research has shown that a positive reception of tourist potential has to translate into its high rating as compared to other places. It is also important to have a coherent image of a place (through the identification of the main symbols) and indicate its universal nature (it may attract a broad range of recipients). These assessments allow for checking the propriety of the direction in which local policies are led; however, it is pivotal that the opinions expressed by residents be in line with the views of tourists and visitors

Rural–Urban Divide: Generation Z and Pro-Environmental Behaviour

Generation Z is the crucial cohort that will have to face the issues resulting from human impacts on the environment. The oldest members of this generation are now entering adulthood. Even though Generation Z is a global and homogeneous cohort, research indicates that the type of settlement unit where one lives may condition the emergence of intra-generational differences. The study focused on determining the pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) of Generation Z from the perspective of a former-socialist European country, Poland. We explored the motivational factors of Polish Generation Z towards their PEB and the actual PEB they undertake. We conducted focus-group interviews with 68 representatives of Generation Z, aged 16–19, living in villages, small towns, and medium-sized and large cities. The data obtained from the interviews were analysed in NVivo software by means of content analysis. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour, we showed that the type of settlement unit determines pro-environmental attitudes and barriers to undertaking pro-environmental behaviour

Rural–Urban Divide: Generation Z and Pro-Environmental Behaviour

Generation Z is the crucial cohort that will have to face the issues resulting from human impacts on the environment. The oldest members of this generation are now entering adulthood. Even though Generation Z is a global and homogeneous cohort, research indicates that the type of settlement unit where one lives may condition the emergence of intra-generational differences. The study focused on determining the pro-environmental behaviour (PEB) of Generation Z from the perspective of a former-socialist European country, Poland. We explored the motivational factors of Polish Generation Z towards their PEB and the actual PEB they undertake. We conducted focus-group interviews with 68 representatives of Generation Z, aged 16–19, living in villages, small towns, and medium-sized and large cities. The data obtained from the interviews were analysed in NVivo software by means of content analysis. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour, we showed that the type of settlement unit determines pro-environmental attitudes and barriers to undertaking pro-environmental behaviour

Culture and Sustainable Tourism: Does the Pair Pay in Medium-Sized Cities?

Undoubtedly, one of the greatest challenges to civilisation today is the need to fulfil commitments to build a just and caring global society. These commitments also apply to the tourism sector. The aim of the article was to determine how to identify opportunities for sustainable tourism development based on cultural heritage in medium-sized cities whose tourism assets can hardly be considered outstanding. This is an even more significant problem, as even in conditions of relatively low tourist traffic cultural tourism may have an unsustainable character if the relevant policy is pursued and the attitude of the inhabitants are inappropriate. The authors proposed to complement the Triple Bottom Line used to assess the sustainability of a destination with the assessment of the local authority’s attitude towards cultural development and characteristics regarding the involvement of the inhabitants. The study has shown that even if the cultural assets of medium-sized cities are not outstanding, they can play a role in tourism development. It is important to remember that their advantage lies in their locality, and that expecting too much of an economic effect of developing tourism can deprive them of this advantage permanently