In the modern economy, there is a significant increase in interest in tourism, both at the level of states, regions, communes and individual places. Tourism is seen primarily as an opportunity for economic development, but also for social development and activation of local communities. Well-managed tourism can become a way to preserve and protect the natural, cultural and historical heritage of specific places or regions by exploring and nurturing it. Heritage elements become, on the one hand, attractions around which unique tourism products are created, and on the other hand, a kind of distinguishing feature of a given place or region, based on which local communities build their identity and sense of belonging. The concept of creating regional tourism products could integrate these two factors, i.e., tourism and heritage. The article presents the concept of a regional tourist product on the example of the Wooden Architecture Route (case study).

The market of tourist services is constantly changing due to various impulses coming from  international environment as well as from factors of national, regional and local level. The determinants  of change in global tourism are primarily associated with the processes of globalization (including the  global economic crisis’ years 2008−2010). The aim of this study is to analyze the tourism sector in  conditions of global economic crisis. The analysis of demand and supply data – for the period of years  2006−2010 with forecasts for 2011 – made it possible to determine the economic condition of the  sector. It seems that tourism was sensitive to the contemporary global economic crisis, while decreases  in the indicators analyzed were relatively small and were mainly observed in 2009.

Wiedza jest zasobem, który obecnie nabiera coraz większego znaczenia w rozwoju gospodarki. Rośnie rola kapitału ludzkiego i innowacji. Natomiast stopniowo ogranicza się znaczenie surowców naturalnych oraz nisko wykwalifikowanej siły roboczej. Coraz częściej mówi się o gospodarce opartej na wiedzy (GOW, z ang. the knowledge-based economy), tj. gospodarce bazującej na wiedzy i informacji. Niebagatelną rolę w procesie wspomagania jej rozwoju odgrywają samorządy terytorialne, które jednocześnie stają przed koniecznością zmierzenia się z jej wyzwaniami w aspekcie narastającej konkurencji między obszarami. Celem niniejszego artykułu jest analiza i ocena aktywności samorządów lokalnych w tworzeniu gospodarki opartej na wiedzy. Przyjęto, że współcześnie ważnym instrumentem kształtowania procesów rozwojowych w naszym kraju są fundusze europejskie, które mogą się przyczynić do pobudzania czynników wzrostu gospodarczego i rozwoju GOW. W prowadzonych na potrzeby niniejszej pracy badaniach dokonano zatem kwerendy i analizy danych dotyczących projektów zrealizowanych w gminach województwa małopolskiego przy wsparciu unijnych środków pomocowych.

The main goal of the paper is the evaluation of agritouristic enterprises, as a specific type of family owned businesses, in terms of their market and entrepreneurial behaviour and the behaviour connected with generating innovation. The attempt has been made to define the advantages and disadvantages of family-run business in the opinion of the agritouristic enterprises. Research Design & Methods: Achievement of the above-mentioned goal was based on the analysis of professional literature, and direct research supported by direct questionnaire surveys and individual in-depth interviews. The empirical research was conducted in the period from January to March 2012. Findings: Agritourist enterprises are self-defined as family enterprises. They can see and appreciate benefits from running a family business as well as their advantage in being innovative and strive to introduce changes in their businesses. Implications & Recommendations: In the opinion of the authors of this paper, agritourist farms are a very special example of family entrepreneurship. Contribution & Value Added: Issues analysed in this study are relatively new and poorly covered by the literature in the field. It is a certain novelty to analyse family entrepreneurship in agritourism in addition to being an interesting area of scientific exploration.

In the era of increasing competition it is extremely important to be distinguishable on the market and to gain the trust of customers. One of the tools to achieve this goal is building the brand. A strong brand determines the existence of an enterprise and distinguishes it on the global market. Most often brand is defined as “name, term, symbol, design or combination thereof, designed to identify the goods or services of sellers or a group of sellers, and to distinguish them from the competition”1.  L. de Chernatony extends the concept of brand and defines it as “an identifiable product, service, person or place, augmented in such a way that the buyer or user perceives relevant, unique added values which match their needs most closely”.Globalization and the growing competition between the regions forces territorial units to take action to create their own competitive advantage. One of the tools of competitive struggle and a way for a region to distinguish itself is building a regional brand. A strong brand not only arouses interest and attracts tourists and investors, but is also a very strong support for the development of innovation and competitiveness of local enterprises.