The general objective of this paper is to present and discuss the factors that need to be taken into account to ensure that the development and management of religious tourism at rural sites was sustainable from an economic, environmental and socio-cultural point of view. Among other issues, sustainable religious tourism means accessibility to the sanctuaries, protection of cultural and heritage values of the local community, benefits for the local residents and meaningful experience for visitors. Authors were especially interested in the less popular, more remotely located holy sites in Mazovia Region (Poland) and two concerns: readiness to respond the needs of persons with different disabilities and local community opinion on tourists. As was documented by our research outcomes despite the recent numerous improvements, the most popular rural sanctuaries in Mazovia Region, remain only partially accessible for persons with disabilities. As masses of pilgrims have a significant effect on wellbeing and everyday life quality of residents (contributing both to positive and to negative effects), those who accept that tourists are important for economic development, benefit from it, creating ‘smart host area’. These rural communities which are not knowledgeable about positive impacts – see only negative consequences.
This chapter presents theoretical base for the creation of the Smart Evaluation Method (SEM) and an attempt to use this scoring method in practice for measuring environment, sport and recreation potentials of urban greens. A multi-item questionnaire instrument was used to assess selected urban parks: environment quality (air, soil, and water), natural resources (greens, water, and landscape), socio-cultural resources (as public safety), recreation and sport facilities (as children playgrounds, tennis courts, pathways), and park visitor's satisfaction. The survey was carried out in eight selected urban parks in Warsaw and Madrid. With the use of correlation, factor and graphic analysis of their quality, a number of subjective and objective factors which might determine urban greens potentials were identified. They include strong and weak points of the sport and recreation programme of urban parks which were identified. The SEM method was developed with a goal of responding to the challenges of smart city, helping to create sustainable environment and reduce negative consequences of climate change, improve information about public space programme and promote active lifestyle. The knowledge acquired on the base of the SEM innovative scoring method and its outcomes analyse could help to develop smart planning and management of urban greens, enhance the quality of life, provide healthier environment and improve the use of public space.
This paper presents some aspects of COVID-19 impact on cultural tourism and on the museum sector. Museums are closely linked to cultural and heritage tourism, considered a significant attraction.The tourism sector is among the most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and cultural tourism is not an exception. In 2020 around 95% museums around the world were closed – according to government sanitary regulations. The aim of the research was to identify the impact of COVID-19 disease on cultural tourism (measured by a number of visitors in the most popular museums in 2019 and 2020) and museums’ adaptation to the sanitary restrictions during the pandemic time. For a few decades museums have tried to enhance their digital activities such as online educational programmes, online collection display, online exhibitions, live events, learning programs, brochures, podcasts, social media and virtual tours. These activities and various projects became especially important during the lockdown caused by the pandemic outbreak, as many museums continued their missions during the pandemic. Some museums have reopened (with strict limitations defined by sanitary restrictions), but many institutions remain closed. It shows how crucial IT innovations are. The paper concludes with some reflections on museums’ offer during the pandemic time and cultural tourism prospects in the post-pandemic time.
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