Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
11 Tourism in Poland: Changes
in Policy, Management and Education
Barbara Marciszewska
Introduction
the market economy on one hand and social
needs on the other. Hence tourism, due to its
'sensitive' and unpredictable nature, requires
long-term policy at the national, regional and
local level, taking into account the 'knowledge
factor' (Marciszewska, 2004a, p. 29).
Tourist consumption in Poland is shifting
from domestic tourism to international tourism,
which calls for a new strategy for the tourism
sector in order to stimulate the development of
national tourist destinations. Religious sites,
historical monuments, galleries, museums and
theatres are fixed elements of the tourist pack-
age but they are particularly significant factors
influencing demand among students and
foreign tourists. These cultural attractions are
partly being replaced by small cultural festivals,
sporting events, popular culture events and the
performing arts, which can bring tourists relax-
ation and a new experience (Marciszewska,
2001, p. 223).
Regional and local development strategies
should therefore include building projects,
such as new infrastructure, theme parks and
leisure centres, and the adaptation of existing
buildings to be used for cultural activities. While
such projects can be supported by indirect
investment, this means of funding is of little
relevance in Poland at the present stage of its
socio-economic development. Although the
relationship between tourism and economy is
discussed in the Polish literature (Marciszewska,
The main purpose of this chapter is to discuss,
within the context of Poland's EU accession,
the importance of improvements in tourism
education and in state/regional/local tourism pol-
icy for creating a competitive tourism strategy.
Such a strategy, in its turn, should be imple-
mented in order to exert a positive influence on
the country's socio-economic development.
Future directions for tourism education within
the framework of current tourism policy are sug-
gested as a contribution towards Polish socio-
economic development.
The development of tourism in Poland
faces a number of obstacles which have to be
recognized and overcome by both national
tourism administration and regional and local
authorities. The process of globalization and
Poland's accession to the EU have, to a certain
extent, opened borders and lowered barriers for
tourism exchange between nations, but it is also
creating new directions for national policy due
to the fact that globalization
crosses the traditional borders of time, space,
scope, geography, function, thought and
cultural assumptions.
(Knowles et al ., 2001, p. 176)
This, in turn, demands a new political
approach to both small and medium-sized enter-
prises and tourism services which are shaped by
 
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