Networks of hiking tourist trails in the Krkonoše (Czech Republic) and Peneda-Gerês (Portugal) national parks — comparative analysis

2020

Geoheritage

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The political transformation taking place in Central European countries at the turn of 1980s and 1990s influenced, among other aspects, the methods of nature protection and making it available for tourism. The changes taking place at that time have been traced in the article on the example of three sandstone landscapes, which belong to the most popular geotouristic attractions of the Czech Republic and Poland: Prachov Rocks Nature Reserve with adjacent fragments of the Bohemian Paradise Protected Landscape Area, Adršpach-Teplice Rocks National Nature Reserve and the Table Mountains National Park. These changes were analysed on the basis of transformations of the networks of hiking trails and development of other tourism facilities within the boundaries of the protected areas. Analysis covers the entire period from the end of communism (1980s) up to present days. According to the study, in the case of all analysed protected areas, the systemic transformation in Central Europe played an important role as a factor affecting the network of hiking trails. In each case, however, local factors were also important. The biggest changes occurred in the Adršpach-Teplice Rocks and the Table Mountains. In the first case, the number and distribution of visitors needed to be controlled, leading to modification of route network. The main reason of its significant reduction was to separate paid routes from those not charged. In the Table Mountains, the network was substantially developed as a consequence of the establishment of a national park there and the political changes at the turn of twentieth and twenty-first centuries which opened the border zone and forced the marking of new tourist trails. In the Prachov Rocks, the existing layout of hiking trails has been largely kept unchanged because the continuous intensive tourist traffic did not allow any reductions, even if these would help to protect the environment. On the other hand, the network was really well developed, that it did not require further growth. Today's networks of tourist trails in the Prachov Rocks and some parts of the Table Mountains seem too developed, taking into account the protective regime of both areas. In terms of interpretation of geoheritage, the most extensive and targeted offer can be found in the Table Mountains National Park. Referring to the methods used, the graph theory cannot be applied easily to tourist trails networks, especially when a dissected landscape is analysed. A simple but very helpful indicator illustrating the development of the network is the density of tourist trails per square kilometre.

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Aims and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Section: Kołodziejczyk 2014a 2019mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Way to the Rocks—Changes of Networks of Hiking Trails in Chosen Sandstone Landscapes in Poland and the Czech Republic in the Period of Political Transformation

2020

Geoheritage

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“…In this context, it is regrettable that the idea behind the development of certified scenic routes in Polish tourism (not necessarily in a geotourism context) has not gone beyond academic consideration and that is, unfortunately, mostly quite old (the 11 th volume of the academic journal 'Problems of Mountain Land Development', Problemy Zagospodarowania Ziem Górskich, published in 1973 by the Polish Academy of Sciences, was almost entirely devoted to the topic). The use of landscape for the explaining of geological/geomorphological processes is currently implemented only in some parts of the Sudeten Mountains, the most attractive geotouristically, but also the most frequented by tourists (Giant and Stołowe Mountains; Migoń 2016;Migoń and Knapik 2013;Pijet-Migoń and Migoń 2019;Wojewoda 2011) where there is not necessarily a need to create new tourist routes (see: Kołodziejczyk 2019Kołodziejczyk , 2020b. On the other hand, the remaining parts of the Sudeten Mountains are almost undeveloped in this respect, including areas analyzed in this paper.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The untapped potential of scenic routes for geotourism: case studies of Lasocki Grzbiet and Pasmo Lesistej (Western and Central Sudeten Mountains, SW Poland)

Chylińska

2021

J. Mt. Sci.

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A view is often more than just a piece of landscape, framed by the gaze and evoking emotion. Without diminishing these obvious ‘tourism-important’ advantages of a view, it is noteworthy that in itself it might play the role of an interpretative tool, especially for large-scale phenomena, the knowledge and understanding of which is the goal of geotourism. In this paper, we analyze the importance of scenic drives and trails for tourism, particularly geotourism, focusing on their ability to create conditions for experiencing the dynamically changing landscapes in which lies knowledge of the natural processes shaping the Earth’s surface and the methods and degree of its resource exploitation. The issues are found in both wider and local contexts. A more detailed insight has been conducted on the basis of two, although in some sense peripheral, tourism regions from the Sudeten Mountains (southwestern Poland): Lasocki Grzbiet (a ridge) and Pasmo Lesistej (a small range). The subjects of the investigation were complex: the geotourism potential of selected viewpoints located on the most scenic routes (mostly paths and forest tracks) as well as the problems of maintenance, conservation, and protection of their educational value. Our work is based on desk and field research supported by results of GIS visibility analyses (conducted in the QGIS program).

“…Studies are better developed in the mountain ranges with a long tradition of active tourism, primarily hiking, and an extensive network of trails. An example is the Sudeten mountains, where research was conducted primarily by Chmiel (2011), Potocki (2004Potocki ( , 2010Potocki ( , 2013 and Kołodziejczyk (2014aKołodziejczyk ( , 2015aKołodziejczyk ( , 2015bKołodziejczyk ( , 2018Kołodziejczyk ( , 2019aKołodziejczyk ( , 2019b, the latter focusing on recent years and changes after the entry of Poland and the Czech Republic into the Schengen area. Krakowiak (1997) and Styperek (2001Styperek ( , 2002 also conducted analyses of the degree of development of the networks, focusing on the Polish Carpathians.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in the network of tourist trails in the border zones of the Czech Republic after entering the Schengen area

2020

J. Mt. Sci.

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Among the factors influencing tourist trail network development are political issues, including the presence of state borders, the possibility of crossing them and the accessibility of border zones. In the article, it was decided to look at changes in the offer of tourist trails (hiking and cycling) along the entire border of the Czech Republic after the extension of the Schengen area (within this area, crossing the border is possible anywhere, and not only at official border crossings). It should be emphasized here that the borders of the Czech Republic over most of their length run through mountainous areas and, apart from political factors, natural features should have a major impact on the development of tourist routes. In order to determine the coherence of the current network of trails on both sides of the Czech Republic state border, modern tourist maps have been analyzed, determining the number of places where it is possible to cross the state border with the help of a marked tourist trail. Based on that, two indicators were introduced to determine the degree of openness with all neighboring countries as regards the opportunity to cross on a tourist trail. Changes in the historical situation, a comparison of the accessibility of the border area before entering the Schengen area and 2019, were analyzed for two study areas using archival maps. Over a decade after the extension of the Schengen area, the number of places where tourist trails of neighboring countries approach the border has clearly increased. Crossing is more often made possible using hiking trails than cycling routes (trails of the first type cross the border every 7.91 km, while the latter every 13.3 km), but considering the speed of movement, it can be assessed that the openness for cyclists is higher than for hikers. Moreover, in many places there is still significant potential for further integration of tourist trail networks as trails created in one country often do not have a continuation on the other side of the border.