Produkt turystyczny – szlak

Abstract

The first marked tourist trail on Polish lands was the track to Hoverla in the Czornohora mountain range (today’s Ukraine) signposted by Leopold Wajgel in 1880. In 1887 Walery Eliasz Radzikowski blazed with red paint a hiking trail from Zakopane to Morskie Oko. In the late 1920s first trails were marked on lowlands, however it was not until 1950 that they appeared in large numbers. In the following decades water (canoe and sail), ski and motorized trails gained in popularity. In the 1990s cycling and equestrian trails became increasingly popular. In 2007 tourist trails marked by the PTTK totaled nearly 64,000 kilometres. The length of trails created after 1990 by other institutions (municipalities, regional tourist organizations, foundations) remains unknown. In spite of long history of trail construction in Poland, there is no precise, commonly accepted definition of ‘a tourist route’. The difficulty consists in a great variety of tourist trails (tab. 1), lack of legal regulations and different approaches to the route that are not marked in the geographic space. The following aspects of a tourist trail can be analyzed: a) geometric – as a continuous system composed of repetitive elements: segments and nodes (fig. 1), b) geoecological – as a system composed of a tourist, natural and anthropogenic assets, tourist infrastructure, local inhabitants and other tourists (fig. 2). The interaction between these elements consists primarily in a landscape being perceived by the tourist during a recreational penetration (Styperek 2004), c) product. A route is a particular type of tourist product. Linear or zonal, it is made up of a series of places or sites connected with a theme and forming a route (walking, canoe, motorized, etc.), usually signposted, along with tourist infrastructure along the trail (Kaczmarek, Stasiak, Włodarczyk 2005). In the pyramid of tourist products (fig. 3) route figures at the highest level of integration. This group includes products that requires organizational integration (unification of elementary products) and have particular localization in the geographic space. The unifying element of a series of places and sites can be e.g. a theme (architecture, history, industry, folklore), way of traveling (cycling, canoeing, horse riding) or travel motivations (sightseeing, active recreation, spiritual experience). Not every tourist route is automatically a tourist product: It has to be commercialized. It must be considered as a certain set of goods and services prepared as a ready-to-sell offer targeting a specific market segment and susceptible of fulfilling the needs of this particular group of tourists (providing certain profits, satisfaction, experiences, etc.). If not commercialized the route is merely a marked trail, a series of sites, a proposition of no commercial meaning. A route as a tourist product represents a conglomerate of unitary goods (things) and services available for tourist during the travel. It consists of: a) services – accommodation, food, guide service, tourist information b) things – guidebooks, tourist maps, souvenirs, postcards, gadgets c) objects – architectural monuments, industrial monuments, museums, natural sites d) events – shows, presentations, cultural events, recreational events e) local tourist packages: city tours, excursions, hotel stays, f) areas – city, commune, district, national park (fig. 4). Route can be an important component of: – tourist product of a touroperator (tourist package), e.g. pilgrimage, themed sightseeing excursion, active tourism, – product of a tourist receiving area e.g. urban route, themed regional route, national park trail network. Considering route as a fully fledged tourist product one should identify and characterize its three universal dimensions (fig. 6). The essence of a product can consist in various needs: cognitive, recreational, religious, sporting, and excitement. The real product contains all the elements that make it usable by tourists: tourist assets connected with the route theme, tourist services (accom-modation, food, transportation, tourist information, guide service), souvenirs, guidebooks, maps, etc. The extended product includes complementary services that enhance the attractiveness of the route. These are any elements that ‘enliven’ the route (shows, exhibitions, tasting, cultural events), as well as some additional facilities and services not connected directly with the route theme and propositions of recreation, visiting off-route sites, cultural attractions, auxiliary services. To make of a route a comprehensible product an organization responsible for creation and maintenance of the trail must coordinate action of all bodies dealing with particular segments of the product. Its responsibilities include: – generating ideas and concepts of the route, – popularization of these ideas among entrepreneurs and inhabitants, – completion of the project (tracing, trail blazing, etc.), – tourist information and promotion, – organization of events that enliven the route, – development of tourist infrastructure along the trail and in the surrounding areas (including attracting investors), – sanitation, renovation, and maintenance of the route and its infrastructure, – assuring safety on the trail, – permanent development of the route (new sites and sections, connections with other trails). The administering body should aim at unification of such heterogeneous product. Route should have a short, easy name suggesting its theme as well as a consistent system of visual identification (logo, uniform, trail blazing). It is also necessary to organize a promotional action adequate to the route character (publications, promotion at tourist fairs). Route should also be popularized through a thematic web site which would provide: – a multimedia guidebook to the route, – a virtual tour of main sites/attractions, – full information on available services and a calendar of events, – a direct reservation system and custom-tailored service packages, – contact with the route administering body. The overall satisfaction of a tourist using a route depends on a set of minor details such as: – themed souvenirs (postcards, mugs, pens, caps, pictures and models of monuments, educational toys, funny souvenirs) – tickets of similar print pattern suggesting the unity of the trail, – multimedia, – loyalty programmes drawing tourists to the route (so-called multi-sites ticket, discounts for frequent visitors, albums for collectable items, stamp collecting), – regional products. In the 21st century it is hard to imagine tourism without routes. A modern mass tourist typically sticks to well-prepared, signposted and safe routes described in guidebooks. They represent a tangible symptom of geographic space being conquered by travelers and adapted to their needs. A trail network became a permanent attribute of contemporary tourist space. Last years of the 20th century saw creation of numerous themed tourist routes in Poland (tab. 3). Although, in compliance with the concept described above, they can hardly be considered as complete tourist products, they symptomize a shift toward regarding tourist routes as distinct products which seems to be of key importance for development of tourism in Poland. Offering increasingly wide assortment of attractive themed tours, Poland will certainly improve its standing on highly competitive world tourism market.