Spatial arrangements of tourist villages: implications for the integration of residents and tourists

ABSTRACT

In assessing the sustainability of tourism development and tourism impacts on rural communities, researchers have analyzed a variety of personal, social, and economic factors. Rarely, however, have they devoted attention to the spatial characteristics of rural tourism places. Yet spatial factors may be important for quality of life and positive relationships among local residents and tourists, as suggested by the theoretical perspectives of the ‘New Urbanism.’ This concept proposes that the arrangement of the built environment influences residents’ level and quality of social interactions and their overall sense of community – an idea also relevant for communities wishing to initiate tourism development projects. Thus, the research described here asks: How do different spatial arrangements in tourist villages affect the quality of public spaces and the level of integration between locals and tourists? To address these questions, we used cartographic spatial analysis and semi-structured interviews with community residents to study 17 tourist villages in the Łęczna-Włodawa Lake District of eastern Poland. Results show that the spatial integration of residents and second home users is generally beneficial for both locals and tourists. The greatest benefit is received by residents of the smallest villages, where levels of spatial integration are the highest under moderate levels of tourism development. Spatial isolation of tourist and residential zones, as well as excessive dominance of tourism development, however, negatively impact community social relationships and reduce quality-of-life benefits. This research suggests that spatial arrangements should be considered to a greater extent in planning and managing rural tourism development.

摘要

在评估旅游发展的可持续性和旅游业对乡村社区的影响时, 研究人员分析了个人、社会与经济各个方面的因素, 但是他们对乡村旅游地方的空间特征现有鲜有关注。正如新城市主义理论观点所示, 空间因素对当地居民与旅游者的生活质量和积极关系可能很重要。新城市主义这个概念主张人造环境的空间安排影响居民社会互动的水平与质量以及他们总体的社区感。这个思想对于那些希望启动旅游发展项目的社区也很有参考价值。所以, 我们的研究问题是旅游村落的不同空间安排是如何影响公共空间质量和主客互动水平的?为解决该问题, 我们采用了地图空间分析和对社区居民半结构访谈的方法研究了波兰东部拉孜娜-沃达瓦 (Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie) 湖区17个旅游村落。结果显示, 居民与第二住宅用户的空间融合总体上对双方都有益。在中等旅游发展水平下, 空间互动水平最高、规模最小的村落, 居民获益最大。但是, 旅游者与住宅区的空间隔离, 以及旅游开发过分的主导地位会负面影响社区的社会关系, 减低双方的生活质量。本研究建议, 在乡村旅游发展规划与管理中应当最大程度上考虑主客双方的空间布局因素。

KEYWORDS:

• Tourism development
• rural community
• spatial planning
• public place
• tourist villages
• second homes
• East Poland
• Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie Lake District

关键词:

• 旅游发展
• 乡村社区
• 空间规划
• 公共空间
• 旅游者社区
• 第二住宅
• 东波兰
• 拉孜娜-沃达瓦 (Łęczyńsko-Włodawskie) 湖区

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the residents who gave their time and constructive comments to our interviews and Cyprian Jaruga for assisting with the GIS analysis.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dawid Soszyński

Dawid Soszyński is a Ph.D. researcher in rural geography at Institute of Landscape Architecture in Catholic University of Lublin, Poland. His interests focus on spatial planning, public spaces, tourism development and landscape studies of rural areas.

Barbara Sowińska-Świerkosz

Barbara Sowińska-Świerkosz is a Ph.D. researcher in landscape sciences in the Department of Hydrobiology and Ecosystems Protection at the University of Life Science in Lublin. Her research interests include landscape quality, use of landscape indicators and metrics, protection and planning of valuable area, and public participation in the process of natural and cultural heritage protection.

Patricia A. Stokowski

Patricia A. Stokowski is a Ph.D. professor working in parks, recreation and tourism at the University of Vermont, USA. Her research interests include social and cultural impacts of tourism development in rural communities, sense of place issues in tourism and outdoor recreation, and place-related discourses.

Andrzej Tucki

Andrzej Tucki is a Ph.D. in tourism geography. His research involved tourism development but also quality of life and health tourism issue. He is at e position of researcher at Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland.