Postawy społeczności lokalnych wobec parku narodowego i rozwoju turystyki na przykładzie miejscowości w otoczeniu Babiej Góry
Attitudes of local communities towards a national park and tourism development: The example of localities surrounding the Babia Góra massif

Summary/Abstract: The paper presents the local residents’ attitudes towards the Babia Góra National Park (BGNP), their views on the Park’s impact on the local development and their opinions on the development of tourism in the Babia Góra area. The results of a survey conducted among the residents of areas surrounding the BGNP (n=397) show a relatively positive image of the Park in the local community. The residents are mostly approving of the National Park’s operation and usually declare having positive relations with the BGNP management. They perceive a positive impact of the BGNP on the natural environment and on the local communities’ environmental awareness but also on the spatial order and the quality of life in the villages. The impact on economic development is usually assessed as neutral. The economic aspect in which the BGNP’s influence is perceived as the most beneficial is tourism development. Those benefits are most evident in Zawoja, the village concentrating the majority of incoming traffic of Babia Góra visitors. The neutral attitudes of many residents towards the BGNP and a lack of clear views on many aspects of the Park’s functioning show that the residents’ interactions with the Park are not close or frequent. This is mostly because the BGNP is relatively small and the percentage of private land within its boundaries is low. Consequently, there are few direct economic links between the local communities and the Park. In order to win more support from the local residents, there should be more focus on presenting indirect economic benefits and intangible advantages from the Park’s operation. Coinciding interests should also be sought, as should be patterns of social and economic activity which could foster the residents’ cooperation with the Park management.

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