The significance of the Renaissance in Poland according to tourists’ opinions on TripAdvisor concerning three major Renaissance landmarks

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to analyze the role of the Renaissance in Poland and the way it is reflected in tourists’ reviews. The authors focused in particular on tourists’ awareness concerning the importance of three major Renaissance landmarks located in three Polish cities, namely the Wawel Royal Castle in Cracow, the Town Hall in Poznań and the Old Town in Zamość. Methods used in the empirical part include an analysis of reviews posted on the TripAdvisor website by Polish tourists who have visited these sites, taking into account the historical conditions underlying the development of the Renaissance in Poland and its characteristic features. The authors used the desk research method. The pilot study described in the article is an introduction to further, in-depth qualitative research. The results indicate that only 10% of all tourists’ reviews referred to the Renaissance character of the sites. The reviews indicate that most tourists lack a solid knowledge of history and architecture, and were most likely not inspired to visit the analyzed sites because of their links to the Renaissance. No reviews were found demonstrating any personal background in history or suggesting that the Renaissance was the reason for visiting these particular sites. So far, references to the Renaissance in tourists’ reviews of Polish landmarks have not been discussed in the literature. The article can, therefore, be regarded as a first contribution to the study of this issue.