Background:
Following the collapse of communism and the transition to a market economy, the government of Poland identified tourism as a means of diversifying the country’s significant rural economy. With the support of the EU Phare Programme, TDI was appointed to prepare the Poland Rural Tourism Master Plan.
Project Objectives:
The overall objective of the Poland Rural Tourism Master Plan was to provide a roadmap to convince farmers, rural residents, parliamentarians and public officials of Poland’s rural potential and clear guidelines as to how this potential could be realised.
Project Activities:
- Assessment of existing product offer
- Consultation with public, private and community stakeholders
- Market research to identify market potential and new product development opportunities
- Tourism strategy formulation
- Market positioning and marketing planning
- Tourism product development recommendations
- Establishment of pilot tourism initiatives
- Capacity building
- Tourism institutional strengthening
- Analysis of tourism training needs and preparation and appropriate training courses including tourism information office personnel
Project Outcome and Impacts:
The Poland Rural Tourism Master Plan had a very significant impact on the development of rural tourism in the country during the 25 year period 1990-2015. During this timeframe, Poland’s rural economy has witnessed the emergence of the first ‘tourist’ ? and tourism SMEs. The growth in rural tourism has been facilitated by organisational initiatives including the Rural Tourism Association ‘Hospitable Farms’, government tax incentives to encourage the development of tourist facilities, ongoing investment in training and marketing.
Links:
UNWTO Seminar: Rural Tourism in Europe : Experiences, Development and Perspectives