Report on the Annual ‘Tourism and Hospitality Research in Ireland’ Conference (Thric) – ‘Smart Thinking in Tourism’ – Athlone, Co. Westmeath, Ireland, 14-15 June 2011

Wydrukowano z dostarczonych Wydawnictwu Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego gotowych materiałó

Protected Areas: Geotourist Attractiveness for Weekend Tourists Based on the Example of Gorczański National Park in Poland

The aim of the publication was to assess the geotourist attractiveness of protected areas in Poland among weekend tourists based on the example of Gorczański National Park. The park location near urbanized areas makes it an attractive field for research on weekend tourism development. The tourist potential of the park is presented, starting from geological aspects and geotourist values. Then, the tourist potential was analysed, with a focus on geotourist resources, which include tourist trails and didactic routes. The tourist traffic volume was also examined. On the basis of legal documents, such as nature conservation plans, threats related to tourism development in protected areas were presented as indicated by park managers. In accordance with the Act on Nature Conservation, the threats are divided into four groups: internal existing and potential threats and external existing and potential threats. The tourists’ opinion on the geotourist attractiveness of the park was investigated with surveys conducted during selected weekends significant in the context of tourist traffic volume. Thus, a profile of people visiting the park for short stays was obtained, as well as their assessment of the tourist resources of the area, with particular emphasis on geotourist values

Problémy regionální nomenklatury v polsko-českém pohraničí

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Geotourism starts with accessible information: the Internet as a promotional tool for the georesources of Lower Silesia

This paper investigates the state of information on geoheritage or, in a wider perspective, a geotourist offer that can be found on the Internet, the basic source of information for the potential tourist, at the example of Lower Silesia. In order to achieve the intended aim, firstly a discussion concerning the division of the tourist resources in the literature was presented. It served as the starting point for the selection and analysis of particular resources, and their online promotion techniques. A place of the geotourist resources within this group was highlighted. Next, the analysis of official documents that constitute the basis for actions aimed at the promotion of tourist resources, with the geotourist ones in particular, was carried out. Predominantly, they comprised the strategies of tourism development at different levels, i.e. the level of voivodeship, and the selected counties, where crucial georesources, or geoheritage complexes of the region are located. One of the most important examples is the Kłodzko County, officially referred to in its strategy as “the Tourist County.” The authors also indicated the nature-based tourist resources of Lower Silesia, placing special emphasis on the resources presented in the Geotourist Catalogues - the most comprehensive presentations of this kind of resources in Poland. In the following part, another analysis was presented regarding information on natural resources promoted on the websites of public administration, or local authorities. Selected websites were examined for their accessibility and the manner in which the georesources are presented. The main result of the conducted research is highlighting the fact that geotourism as a distinctive tourism category is not sufficiently promoted online. The reason behind it is the dispersion of geotourist resources being categorised under divergent umbrella terms. A set of actions for the implementation of changes that can possibly improve the present situation was suggested