Gerard Kosmala’s research while affiliated with The Jerzy Kukuczka Academy of Physical Education in Katowice and other places

Chylińska D., kosmala g., 2023. The 'I was here' syndrome in tourism: The case of Poland. Quaestiones Geographicae 42(2), Bogucki Wydawnictwo Naukowe, Poznań, pp. 53-69. 5 figs, 3 tables. abstraCt: Tourism appropriates tourist attractions and takes possession of them, marking them both physically and symbolically. Tourists visiting attractions tend to create distinctive marks, usually characterised by some significance in terms of self-identification, on the places and monuments visited by them, and this could be regarded as a symptom of a specific 'I was here' syndrome; in the present study, the authors examine the prevailing practices of marking attractions in tourist spaces, as also the marks themselves. We endeavour to identify the nature of the phenomenon and the consequences for both the attractions and the subjects managing them. The survey carried out involved several chosen sites in Poland, all of which are characterised by a recognised historic status in the realm of public space as well as a clearly identified sociocultural or legal value, which by definition imposes the requirement for adhering to a certain behavioural code when within their precincts and towards them, and excludes other kinds of behaviour. These attractions are all subject to different forms of institutionalised control, which, however, fails when it comes to safeguarding them from the practices of marking undertaken typically by tourists; these occurrences have become a routine phenomenon, which is unsurprising given the fact that the rituals of the contemporary mass and mediatised tourism have made this kind of tourist behaviour common, albeit on a lower scale than previously expected.

Tourist promotion in the activities of Local Action Groups in Poland The presence of the so-called „Lokalne Grupy Działania” (Local Action Groups, LAGs) has been clearly recognizable in the Polish rural and small-town landscapes for at least a dozen years. By under taking activities on various grounds they obviously support local development, being – at the same time – a source and an effect of local entrepreneurship. According to the principle ”think globally, act locally”, LAGs realize tasks in the field of local tourism development, in terms of tourism facilities, formation of human capital, and tourism promotion. The latter is the goal of the research in this paper. The research resulted in a determination of the broad range of promotional activities and tools used by LAGs. Simultaneously, their effectiveness and the range of influence were evaluated and common good practices in the field of tourism promotion were described. Apart from the generally positive evaluation of tourism promotion provided by LAGs and based on their knowledge on the local tourism potential, specific conditions negatively affecting the durability of results and the period of influence of the promotional message were indicated.

Purpose. Critical analysis of the “science tourism” concept described in Polish and foreign scientific literature on tourism, a overview and description of its phenomenon and to point out the place of science tourism within the general typology of tourism. Method. Analysis of scientific works and likewise information and data from institutions offering science tourism tourist attractions. Synthesis and systematization of final findings/results. Findings. Science tourism (knowledge and science tourism) means travels to get to know, to experience and practise as well as and encounter its results. In contrast to the prevalent economical approach, the proposed definition represents a functional approach and negates consideration of professional and business travels as tourism. Origins of science tourism reach the 19th century world exhibitions. Nowadays, knowledge and science tourism are used for the popularization of knowledge and scientific inventions and not only in the high-tech industry. They provide the opportunity to get to know the history of science, significant researchers and investigators and also places where “science” is created and inventions take place. Research and conclusion limitations. In our opinion, science tourism (knowledge and science tourism) significantly differs from the common definition/understanding of this term in the analysed scientific literature. Practical implications. Understanding and organizing issues related to science tourism in discussion about the ambiguous and questionable phenomenon. An introduction to further quantitative and qualitative analysis. Originality. The paper is an attempt to order knowledge of science tourism in foreign and Polish scientific literature, to propose other definitions anchored in the functional approach, which eliminates most doubts appearing within the economical and statistical approaches. Type of paper. Theoretical, critical, review.

Tourist regions are subjects of scientific studies, useful in the description of tourist space and tools of effective destination management as well. Artificial by nature they are intentionally created on the basis of arbitrary criterions. Authors take into consideration the chosen regionalization proceedings and tourist regions not in a context of their tourist attractiveness but theoretical foundations of their distinction. Chosen criteria result practically in specific technical proceedings of space delimitation into tourist regions but also support reaching different cognitive, educational, economical, market, social, cultural and - at last - political or ideological goals. Even rough review of tourist regions shows that most of them have the character of political regions: states, group of states or administrative units. There are many reasons of described situation, including the fact that a political region is always an addressee of politics conducted by "somebody" and "for something", to achieve aims. The political-tourist region is organized and fitted with different institutions established to realize, monitor and evaluate political aims and to collect statistical data. Statistics and economy are the main reasons of using political regions in tourism. Tourist regions are also established on the basis of other criteria - They might become (intentionally or as a natural consequence) a source of spatial, social or even cultural identification. It creates a new regional identity especially in places where other socially useful waypoints don't exist. A tourist region is constructed but it can also "create", integrating or antagonizing. In the paper authors point out that a naming of regions is the equally important and also often political phenomenon as their distinction from the space. All described phenomena are illustrated on the basis of the selected, purposefully given examples (the case studies) which, in the authors' opinion, explain mentioned issues in the best way.

Tourists are tired of mass tourism and are therefore seeking places and experiences they could call genuine and different. In city tourism, focus is being increasingly shifted towards direct and authentic experience of urban space through spontaneous contact with the space itself and the inhabitants who create it. The authors, on the basis of three Polish cities being known as tourist destinations, analyzes the role of backyards and lanes in building up the identity of a city and the way their image as a tourist attraction is created. Keywords: backyards, lanes, identity of a city, image of a city, tourist attraction S t r e s z c z e n i e Zmęczeni turystyką masową turyści poszukują odmienności i autentyzmu miejsc oraz doświadczeń z nimi związanych. W turystyce miejskiej coraz więcej uwagi zwraca się na bezpośredniość i prawdziwość do-świadczania przestrzeni miejskiej poprzez spontaniczny kontakt zarówno z nią samą, jak i jej wytwórcami − mieszkańcami miasta. Autorzy artykułu na przykładzie trzech turystycznych miast Polski analizują rolę podwórzy i zaułków w budowaniu tożsamości miasta, konfrontując jednocześnie wykorzystanie ich poten-cjału z kształtowaniem turystycznego wizerunku miasta.