Innovation, Tourism and Destination Development: Dolnośląskie Case Study

Abstract

There is more to success in destination development than just natural or cultural heritage and assets. Increasing globalization and changes in the realm of tourism, both in supply and demand, helped to identify and recognize new development factors. Skilful application of various drivers and mobilization of stakeholders around well-defined development objectives may bring unique results in terms of creating a multidimensional, complex and innovative mega-product. Until now, public administration has been unable to identify timely innovative features and the high promotional and social potential in the Palaces and Gardens Valley project. Instead, the main drivers behind its success have, therefore, to be sought outside public policies, among new development factors utilized by private sector and non-governmental organizations. However, in the long run, recently intensifying close cooperation of public and private bodies is a condition of further development of the project in question.

Notes

1. In the KPZK, that is a national spatial development concept (strategic document adopted by the Government in 2011), the Sudeten mountain area, together with the Jelenia Góra valley, is marked as one of the most visually attractive landscapes of Poland (KPZK, 2011, p. 121), though historical heredity is not given much attention.

2. Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics.

3. Which means that they are not planning areas (no authority to develop tourist policy), which makes this territorial division useless for any active tourism development policy.

4. Typical tourist trails marked on the maps, not a service to be bought.

5. Legnica Castle is the seat of the local authorities, while Książ Castle and Żmigród are owned by local governments.

6. This is probably due to the fact that many publicly owned health establishments are still a burden rather than profitable.

7. Visible also in analysis of projects co-financed by the European Cohesion Policy, which suggests that there is a pretty strong connection between operational objectives of strategies and allocation decisions taken within regional operational programmes.

8. LAU means local administrative unit, what in Polish case refers to “powiat” (county) and “gmina” (municipality).