Impact of physical geographical factors on sustainable planning of South Baltic seaside resorts

Abstract

The objective of the article is to give a comprehensive assessment of the impact that physical geographical factors of the coastal environment have on the South Baltic seaside resorts in the way it is reflected in planning documents (comprehensive plans, regional and tourism development strategies) of South Baltic seaside territorial entities. The seaside resorts and the adjacent coastal protected nature areas, particularly coastal national parks and UNESCO biosphere reserves, are the main focus of this study. The contents of 141 valid documents of spatial planning, management and development has been analysed. The studied comprehensive development plans, tourism strategies and other documents demonstrate that virtually all seaside municipalities in the South Baltic Region express a strong concern in increasing risk of coastal erosion and sea level rise related to the global climate change.

Delivering Tourism Sustainability and Competitiveness in Seaside and Marine Resorts with GIS

“…Many South Baltic seaside municipalities-most in Denmark and least in Swedenregard the Blue Flag award as a token praising the efforts in delivering coastal and marine sustainability [13]. However, it has limitations concerning the intangible aspects of "blue tourism".…”

“…These "blue destinations" are the South Baltic seaside and marine resorts that are best suited for the comparison with Karklė and could serve as good practice examples for sustainability and competitiveness goals. According to the recreational typology of the South Baltic seacoast proposed by Baltranaitė et al [13], the seaside and marine resorts of Germany (Zingst) and Poland (Świnoujście) belong to Subregion II-Southern Baltic Coasts and Islands. Meanwhile the seaside resorts in Lithuania (Karklė and Palanga) and Latvia (Liepāja) belong to Subregion III-Southeast Baltic Graded Coasts.…”

“…Information on the lithology of beach sediments, the Blue Flag award and the patterns of seasonal distribution of visitors was available from various documentation sources. The analysis of the target areas' comprehensive plans and development strategies used a "nuts-and-bolts" approach [13,17] that aims at finding not only the required information but any other relevant knowledge on the subject that may be helpful in the next steps, i.e., for the Delphi judgment. The nearshore sloping was evaluated as a three-step procedure.…”

Multimodal solutions as factors of increasing transport accessibility – the case of Slovakia-Polish Baltic coast route

“…The analysis was based on the last period of 2019/2020 and the first period of the 2020/2021 timetable edition applicable during the time of the lowest possible accessibility to the Baltic resorts during the year without the periodic seasonal connections launched only during the summer holidays (autumn and winter). Baltranaitė et al (2017) draw attention in their work to the seasonality noticeable in this region, forced by geographical factors, mainly climatic, but underlining the general important role of the Baltic region in tourism shaped by numerous attractions. Therefore, it is advisable to assume the most difficult conditions that are possible, adapt solutions to them and then modify suggestions to periodic and seasonal increases in the level of transport accessibility.…”

Lack of Attention to Geological Conditions Investing in Land Plot for Construction

“…Therefore, the investors which plan usage of the land plot for commercial or industrial development may not appreciate mountainous relief and woody terrain. The influence of soil type and conditions on the appraised land plot are seldom investigated in the real estate valuation literature with rare exceptions on geographical stability [28]. It is agreed that specific areas of geographical or geological instability which are prone to the effects of natural phenomena, such as flooding, tsunamis, earthquakes, or volcanic activity, are poor choices when buying property and require consideration of safety aspect [20].…”