Tourism Function as an Element of Regional Competitiveness

Abstract

Introduction. Regions can gain a competitive advantage in different ways, among others by making rational use of their resources in creating regional tourism products. Among these resources, what is of major importance, apart from having natural and cultural resources, is the tourist accommodation offered, which not only makes it possible to increase tourist traffic in the region but can also give it a competitive advantage over other regions. The accommodation and the tourist traffic recorded there can serve as indicators of the level of the development of the tourism function of a region and its dynamics. The aim of the current study is to determine, describe, and analyse the nature of the changes in the tourism function of all sixteen provinces in Poland. Material and methods. The study used indices based on the size and type of the accommodation and the volume of tourist traffic. Statistical data for the years 2000-2015 concerning the size of the tourist accommodation as well as the types of facilities and their occupancy by tourists were obtained from the official publications of the Polish central statistical office. The tourism function indices for Poland and particular provinces were calculated based on data for 2000 and 2015. The results obtained made it possible to identify trends in the increases or decreases in the tourist accommodation capacity and tourist traffic in the facilities and to estimate the changes in the tourism function based on this analysis. Conclusions. The data that were collected and processed made it possible to determine the regional structure of the tourist accommodation offered as well as the level of its occupancy. In general, the largest concentration of tourist accommodation was found in regions of high natural and cultural value (the Zachodniopomorskie, Pomorskie, Małopolskie, and Dolnośląskie Provinces). According to the values of the tourism function indices, the following provinces were in the most favourable situation: Zachodniopomorskie, Małopolskie, and Pomorskie (with a Schneider index exceeding 100 and a Charvat index exceeding 300). A relatively high level of the development of the tourism function was also noted for the Dolnośląskie Province (with the aforementioned indices exceeding the values of 90 and approximately 250, respectively). The four provinces listed above also distinguished themselves when it comes to the values of the Defert index (above 100), that is the number of tourists relative to the surface. The provinces whose tourism function was the least developed were the Opolskie and Lubelskie Provinces (with a Schneider index below 80, a Charvat index below 80, and a Defert index below 30).

Funkcja turystyczna jako element konkurencyjności miasta Szczyrk w czasie pandemii COVID-19

“…Literatura dostarcza wielu definicji funkcji turystycznej. Na przykład niektórzy autorzy wyróżniają w jej obrębie perspektywy geograficzną i ekonomiczną (Krukowska, Świeca, 2011). Poza tym funkcję turystyczną można przedstawić za pomocą różnych miar i cech jakościowych.…”

Evaluation of Hefei, Nanjing and Wuhan Tourism Competitiveness

“…Because there are many factors affecting the competitiveness of urban tourism and the relationship is complicated, this paper uses AHP to determine the weight of indicators to improve the systematic evaluation. After establishing the hierarchical structure model, constructing the judgment matrix and consistency test, the weight values of the indicators at each level are obtained [6][7][8] . This paper divides the evaluation index system of urban tourism competitiveness into four layers ( Table 1).…”

Dynamics and directions of local changes in the tourist function in Lublin voivodeship in the years 2000-2015

“…The tourist accommodation sector in the Lublin voivodeship is rather small in terms of size. Considering the number of lodging establishments, the Lublin voivodeship ranks 10 th nationwide (3.7%) (Krukowska, Świeca, 2018), whereas it accounts for only 3.1% in respect of bed places, attaining a highly unsatisfactory 12 th rank.…”

“…Against the backdrop of the Polish Central Statistical Office data of 2015, the Lublin voivodeship ranked 12th among all Polish voivodeships in terms of these values. In both cases, the voivodeship's share amounted approximately to 2-3% (Krukowska, Świeca, 2018). In 2015, lodging establishments in the Lublin voivodeship accommodated approximately 795,000 visitors, 74% of whom (587,000) were hosted in hotel buildings.…”