Ecotourism in Poland

Abstrakt

Development of the tourist industry often has negative effects on wildlife and local communities, and so for these values which are most valuable in attracting tourist to a particular place. Low tourist culture of travelling persons can result in a situation in which tourism may threaten the foundations of its existence. The responsible tourism and ecotourism seems to be an answer to this problem by focusing on fostering the sense of responsibility of a traveler towards the visited place. The purpose of this article is to present the concept of ecotourism in theory, and present the results of authors’ survey on the awareness of ecotourism in Poland. The methodology of the research includes review of the relevant literature allowing to present the relationship between sustainable tourism and ecotourism, and to discuss the principles of ecotourism. The awareness of Polish citizens in that sphere was analyzed through the questionnaire survey conducted in 2016. The sampling method used in the survey was a purposeful selection. It becomes a necessity to strive for responsible and sustainable development of the tourism industry and the tourists – to ensure such a development so that we can satisfy a need to travel without picking up future generation such possibility. To achieve this, some actions are needed to preserve natural resources and support local communities – both their economy and culture. Creation of another protected areas and their networks are of far more excitement, conflicts and criticism than innovation and satisfaction resulting from owning nature peculiarities of European importance. Surveys of tourists – although they were not extensive – brought together a fresh look at how to stimulate the sustainable development of tourism by proper eco-politics.