“Because We Don’t Want to Run in Smog”: Problems with the Sustainable Management of Sport Event Tourism in Protected Areas (A Case Study of National Parks in Poland and Slovakia)

Abstract

The practice of active and qualified tourism in national parks in Poland and Slovakia has longstanding traditions. Primarily, these parks have been a place of individual recreational activity, as well as a place to educate and convene with nature. Recently, sport tourism, which is characterized by the participation of tourists in mass organized sporting events mainly of a competitive nature, has been gaining more popularity. Even though this activity takes place in protected areas, sports are the main priority, rather than educational goals. Natural values have the primary function of enriching emotional experiences, and exploring wildlife is not an end in itself. Running events are now at the head of the list as the most popular sporting events in Poland and in Slovakia. The authors of the article focused on protected areas in Poland and Slovakia, largely because these countries were considering organizing one of the world’s biggest sports events together: The Winter Olympic Games (2022). The purpose of the study was to recognize the attitude of Polish and Slovak national park authorities toward the organization of mass sports events in protected areas. A diagnostic survey was conducted using the method of interviews with the directors of Polish and Slovak national parks. The research results shed light on the current state of development of sports event tourism in protected areas in the two countries. The article examines the response of Polish and Slovak park authorities to the changes of the current era of shifting societal needs regarding physical development, in particular with regard to the sustainability of protected areas. Currently, there is a lack of a strategic approach toward the development of sports tourism in national parks in Poland and Slovakia. The answers given in the interviews create an image that indicates a differentiated approach to the issue of permitting the organization of sports events in the areas of national parks. It turns out that the practice in these areas is different in individual parks. The diagnosis presented in the article indicates that it is necessary to undertake interdisciplinary and international research among environmentalists, economists, sociologists, anthropologists, and physical culture specialists in order to develop methods for measuring the impact of sporting events organized in natural areas in this part of Europe.

The Impact of Modern Ultramarathons on Shaping the Social Identity of Runners. The Case Study of Karkonosze Winter Ultramarathon

“…The dynamic development of mass sports events comes with questions about the motivations of the postmodern man to participate in them. Recently, researchers focused mainly on mass, popular, street runs/cycling events in the context of their meaning for sporting events and active tourism or in the context of motivation for running/cycling or health implications for runners/cyclists [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. Sporting events have been analyzed as a tourist phenomenon [30][31][32][33][34] and the social identity of athletes is rarely investigated in this area.…”

Do Years of Running Experience Influence the Motivations of Amateur Marathon Athletes?

“…There are many studies on the typology of runners and the sociodemographic profiles of participants in mass running events-half-marathons, marathons, ultra-marathons, triathlons or ultra-triathlons-and their motivational structures. Running motivations have already been analysed for variables such as age, gender and place of residence [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. investigated age-related motivations in half-marathon participation.…”

The Effects of Risk Perceptions Related to Particulate Matter on Outdoor Activity Satisfaction in South Korea

“…The LSS categorizes six groups of 24 items, such as psychological, educational, social, resting, physical, and environmental factors, based on theoretical analysis. The LSS in OA may eventually change in a negative way due to environmental factors such as PM [27][28][29]. The outdoor activities satisfaction scale (OASS) was reconstructed combining LSS and the negative impact of PM (Table 3).…”

“…Further, they have analyzed satisfaction with outdoor recreation based on demographic characteristics (e.g., gender, age, and education) [1,26]. Although studies on the negative effects of OA have been conducted [27][28][29], only a few of them have focused on the satisfaction experienced during OA as it relates to PM. Hence, the perceived health risks regarding PM in OA are still being debated.…”