Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
establish a competitive position for their gradu-
ates in a global job market that requires
managers well trained in proactive behaviour
(Marciszewska and Faché, 2004, p. 242).
A lack of integrated tourism information for
Poland as a whole and unified promotion of the
country's regions, particularly abroad, consti-
tute a barrier for international tourism develop-
ment at all levels. This task is beyond the
means of individual sub-regions and has to be
included in the national tourism promotion
policy. Domestic tourism suffers due to poor
cooperation between the regional authorities
and the local administrative units in the field of
information distribution and tourism product
development. The macro-economic situation
characterized by a high rate of unemployment
and, as a consequence, low purchasing power,
reduces demand from domestic tourists. Rela-
tively low levels of investment in tourism and
limited financial resources for the restoration of
historical buildings are the reason for looking to
horizontal collaboration between local authori-
ties and the private sector or between adminis-
trative units in the public sector itself.
A low awareness that information and
knowledge are the major prerequisites for any
development in the contemporary world, push
many small tourism enterprises to focus on out-
bound tourism because they can sell ready
made products which are prepared by tour
operators. In this context it seems to be obvious
that the rich experience of tourism enterprises
and owners has to be supported by knowledge
exchange between different actors of the
tourism sector. Such a philosophy can put the
Polish tourism sector in a competitive position
utilizing a number of institutional measures and
changes
Conclusions
The fluctuations of government interest in
tourism as a branch of the national economy
and an important area of public policy over the
past 15 years can be summarized as:
●
an initial interest (in the early-1990s) in
tourism as an access to the free market ser-
vice economy, with the social and political
reforms as a result of 'shock therapy';
●
an increased interest in the mid-1990s
when foreign tour operators entered the
Polish tourism market; and
●
active tourism policy created by the Ministry
of Economy and the Polish Tourist Organi-
zation at the central level at the beginning
of this century when tourism was recog-
nized as a significant contributor to the
national economy.
Tourism development is considered as an
essential factor of enterprise support and con-
tributor to the national economy, mainly as a
job-creating activity (Dziedzic, 2005, p. 202).
Tourism has been gaining support in Poland as
a legitimate branch of the economy, partly asso-
ciated with the fact that it is perceived as a
dynamically developing sector in many regions
of the country. Poland's accession to the EU
opened a new door not only to the demand, but
also to a new quality of tourism activities and
education for this sector. However, economic
benefits from tourism perceived as a direct
effect of Poland's accession to the EU cannot be
easily assessed. Social changes are expressed
by knowledge exchange, the influence of fash-
ion, changes in life-style and culture, and they
too shape the tourist activities of Polish society.
in
managers'
attitudes
to
tourism
products such as:
the use of regional identity as a strong
factor in outbound tourism development;
●
the organization of new cultural and sports
events;
●
cooperation with the cultural sector; and
●
the engagement of students in new tourism
projects.
●
References
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Barrows, H. and Tamblyn, R. (1980) Problem-based Learning: an Approach to Medical Education.
New York: Springer.
