The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in National Parks – diagnosis and forecast of sustainable tourism

Abstract

Tourist attractiveness of many areas in Poland is based on exceptional natural values, especially those protected by national parks. Recreation opportunities offered by national parks proved to be important during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the conditions for tourism changed. Many tourists gave up previously planned trips abroad in favour of staying in Poland. This raises the question whether tourists visiting national parks during the pandemic rested in compliance with the principles of sustainable tourism. The article is an attempt to diagnose changes caused by the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on sustainable tourism by analysing the case of national parks in Poland. The article presents: a) a diagnosis of changes triggered at different stages of restrictions introduced by the government to prevent the spread of the pandemic; b) a forecast of how the pandemic may affect the development of tourism in terms of supply (tourist companies, hotels, catering, attractions) and demand (tourists). The summary provides recommendations for national parks, which can be helpful in achieving sustainable tourism objectives.

Evaluating the potential of suburban and rural areas for tourism and recreation, including individual short-term tourism under pandemic conditions

“…These forms fully allow tourist access and have less restrictive rules for recreational and development use compared to national parks and nature reserves 102 . Moreover, the aim was to identify less popular destinations for recreation purposes, hence the decision to omit the well-established national parks 5 , 14 , 56 . In the Mazovia Voivodeship, the median coverage of communes with forms of nature protection is 33%; it can be assumed that units with a share higher than the median value are more attractive for recreation.…”

“…They determine the landscape's scenic, ecological, and cultural values and its suitability for specific forms of recreation. For example, areas covered by legal protection reflect exceptional high-value areas perceived by tourists as particularly worth visiting 5,[60][61][62][63][64] . Such areas often become attractive for recreation, which was demonstrated in particular by numerous examples during the Covid-19 pandemic 5,65,66 .…”

“…This issue should be considered significant when considering the need to limit the effects of the pandemic on the tourism economy. An analysis of tourist behavior during a pandemic is needed to plan current recovery actions, as well as to develop solutions to influence tourist demand in new conditions that will be possible to use in potential future crises [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] .As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry saw a greater interest in travel to destinations closer to home, including by car, which resulted from the need to maintain a sense of security 3,9-12 . Studies conducted in Poland by Zajadacz et al 7 showed that during the pandemic in 2020, around 70% of respondents spent holidays away from home, mainly in the country (78%).…”

“…This issue should be considered significant when considering the need to limit the effects of the pandemic on the tourism economy. An analysis of tourist behavior during a pandemic is needed to plan current recovery actions, as well as to develop solutions to influence tourist demand in new conditions that will be possible to use in potential future crises [2][3][4][5][6][7][8] .…”

Consequences of the accessibility of the mountain national parks in Poland

“…countries and areas of the world, state borders have been closed, and travel restrictions have been introduced(Wang et al 2021;Li et al 2022a). In Poland and Europe, most national parks have been closed to tourists, or changes have been introduced to limit the number of tourists allowed to stay in national parks(Niezgoda and Markiewicz 2021;Škare et al 2021). Travel and tourism have been found to promote the spread of the highly infectious COVID-19 virus(Lakshmi Singh et al 2021;Zenker et al …”