Evaluation of sustainable development of tourism in selected cities in Turkey and Poland

Abstract

The paper analyses the sustainable development of tourism in selected cities located in Turkey and in Poland. The starting point for the conducted research was the adoption of indicators used to assess the sustainable development of tourism in the cities of Amasya (Turkey) and Zakopane (Poland). Ultimately, the authors used slightly modified indicators developed by the Voluntary Initiative for Sustainability in Tourism (VISIT). The studies demonstrated that in Amasya the development of tourism is quite stable and revealed quite a lot of deficiencies in Zakopane. Sustainable development was assessed as poor in terms of environmental obligations, in particular waste water management solutions and municipal waste management as well as in terms of water consumption. The research revealed that some of the indicators were not recorded in central statistical offices, which hindered the assessment considerably. This refers mainly to indicators related to social and cultural considerations. In general, the results are rather surprising, as the analysis revealed significant differences in the development of technological infrastructure and land use intensity. Unfortunately, in these aspects, Zakopane seems to have lost the competition.