LONG-TERM RESEARCH INTO WEEKEND TOURIST TRAFFIC IN ROCK-CAVE OJCOW NATIONAL PARK (POLAND) FOR THE NEEDS OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Abstract

Ojców National Park is distinguished geo- and landscape diversity by Polish national’s parks. It is primarily associated with Jurassic rock formations and niche-caves, which are the main attractions of the park. The research covered the main places visited by tourists – the rock formations of the Castle and the Krakow Gate, the caves Lokietka and Dark Cave, as well as restaurants in the center of the village Ojców. The main focus was on the tourist load on attractions and tourist infrastructure, identifying the main trends over the 20-year observation period and developing recommendations for choosing approaches to sustainable service for visitors to the park. The article discusses the load and structure of weekend tourist traffic in the central part of Ojcow National Park for a long period of time (1998–2017). The results are based on direct observation at the OPN entrance gates and sites on the weekends during the summer season (July-August). It has been established that the total number of visitors in the central part of the park varies from 1.2 to 2.5 thousand people, depending on the weather, which is 1.5-2 times higher than the average daily attendance. The structure of visitors is dominated by small (family) groups (85–91%) and adults and youth (over 70%). During the 20-year observation period, certain trends in the structure and spatial distribution of tourism flows have been identified. In particular, there is an increase in the number of motoring tourists, the share of cyclists (up to 15% of the total flow of visitors) and the attractiveness of educational sites. These long-term studies of the load of tourism flow in the OPN allowed us to assert the phenomena of overtourism in the park, in particular, in its central part over the weekends. Based on the results of recording tourists and questionnaires filled in by the tourists, recommendations for the implementation of elements of sustainable development of the recreational and tourist sphere of the park have been developed. They envisage bringing a network of parking lots to the periphery of the park, dispersal of the main tourism flows, wider introduction of the educational-ambling model of visiting with an emphasis on ecotourism activities. Key words: park; tourism flow; caves; rock formations; visitors; structure; load; sustainable development.