Tourism development in the borderlands of Poland

Abstract

Abstract:The essential objective of this study has been to analyse the role and significance of political boundaries in the functioning of tourism in near-border areas. It was important to make apparent the influence of a boundary on the development of tourism structure (tourist traffic and tourist infrastructure) within near-border areas of Poland. An attempt was also made to demonstrate the manner in which changes in the functions of boundaries influence the development of tourism, as well as the extent to which a boundary may of itself represent a tourist attraction.

The achievements and future potential of applied quantitative geography: A case study

“…Also, many of the more national geographical journals publish a great deal of applied geography work. This journal, Geographia Polonica, has a number of useful and important applications in human geography, especially on the subject of transport access, tourism and regional policy (Więckowski 2010;Więckowski et al 2014 (Birkin et al 2002), geodemographics and neighbourhood targeting (Harris et al 2005;Longley 2005) are testimony to that (Birkin et al 1996). The wider argument is put by Wilson (2010).…”

Place Image Formation and Cross‐Border Shopping: German Shoppers in the Polish Bazaar in Słubice

“…After an initial rise in the early 1990s as a result of changes in border policies, cross‐border shopping declined somewhat but continued to be a part of the everyday in the German‐Polish borderland, with Polish towns along the state border remaining attractive for the foreign visitor (Baláž & Williams ; Więckowski ; Szytniewski ). According to the most recent report by the Central Statistical Office Poland () on cross‐border mobility between Poland and its neighbouring countries, the state border between Germany and Poland consisted of the highest number of border crossings into Poland in 2015.…”

Tourist lodging, spatial relations, and the cultural heritage of borderlands

“…Chan, 2006;Gelbman, 2010;Timothy, 2001;Wachowiak, 2006;Więckowski, 2010), the relationships between borders and tourism-specific services have been virtually ignored by scholars. Exceptions include a set of studies that examined people's motives for crossing international frontiers to dine in "foreign" restaurants or the barriers that inhibit people from doing so (Lord, Putrevu, & Parsa, 2004;Lord, Putrevu, & Zheng, 2006).…”

“…Research on political boundaries and tourism indicates that many international frontiers and their adjacent borderlands are important tourist attractions, with most studies suggesting that their appeal is rooted in the socio-cultural, political and economic differences that exist on opposite sides of the boundary (Askew & Cohen, 2004;Gelbman, 2008Gelbman, , 2010Gelbman & Timothy, 2011;Prokkola, 2007;Timothy, 1995;Więckowski, 2010). This has led to the development of various types of "border tourism" products, including shopping, gambling, prostitution, other recreational pursuits, and medical care.…”