May Day is a time when Polish lakes and mountains, full of attractions, attract tourists. However, behind the curtain of the tourist season lies a reality that may surprise you.
May Day. We probably set off to Polish lakes, mountains and various attractions. The beginning of May begins the tourist season. Before this date, in many places it is difficult to meet anyone on the street, instead, you can shoot films with post-apocalyptic scenarios. To go to Mikolajki in March and in May is to visit two different places. It completely changes the perception of the place. Known as a bustling port, full of visitors thirsty for sailors appears as an abandoned village.
As a resident of Wieliczka, I am familiar with the charm of the tourist season, perhaps to a lesser extent, as the proximity of year-round Krakow attracting tourists is significant. However, I decided to see what the daily life of residents of other resorts is like.
The city is waking up from lethargy
I start with Mikolajki, from which I got the idea for this text. Just finding someone who lives there, or at least has family there, is already difficult. It succeeds. "Mikolajki starts living from May Day and by the end of September it somehow flies by," replies my interviewee. The city is extinct. "Many times I've spent holidays there, only a few pubs are open then, and you can only see a few people wandering around the market on the street. There used to be a time when Russians still came to Golebiewski for the holidays, but now, for known reasons, even they are gone." - he recalls.
A street in Mikolajki outside the tourist season
© Magdalena Milert
I manage to find one more interviewee. At the very beginning of the conversation she tells me that this is her hometown, however, she no longer lives there. However, she still has family roots there. "The people who have stayed in Mikolajki are mainly those employed at the Golebiewski Hotel and other large hotels and stores like Biedronka and so on. These are some of the few companies offering employment on a permanent contract. The others toil in seasonal work, often on the black market," he comments. I ask what daily life is like. "Santa Claus dies in mid-September, only to wake up around May Day," I hear in response, as if to confirm the thesis. The local community tries to somehow diversify this time of lethargy and post-season unemployment and by organizing small events, but they are not wildly publicized and promoted.
Mikolajczanka also adds that this city's housing stock is not in the hands of locals. Although there are large investments by local developers, the market for them is in Warsaw or Gdansk, and these are typically investment apartments. Locals live in single-family houses, where rooms are rented out during the season. New multi-family developments are in the hands of investors, as locals cannot afford to buy an apartment for 12-13 thousand per square meter.
Mikolajki off-season
© Magdalena Milert
Stuffed, sold and Zakopane
Zakopane. Here, admittedly, there is no tourist season, as this one lasts virtually the whole year, but "Zakopane's position is still higher than other tourist destinations," one resident of the Podhale capital tells me. "The older you get, the more you notice that there are no other prospects in the city than tourism. The most accessible one is the one in the worst form: pat-development, short-term rentals, large-format advertising, and Chinese food. On top of that, the lack of slopes, because the families quarreled over the provision of plots of land, the "New Year's Eve of dreams", which only attracted party people and totally jammed the city," he recalls.
Overexposure of a skewed regionality is also one of the problems. Highland culture is becoming a tourist attraction, distorted for commercial purposes. A big nativity scene is being made of highland culture, from playing fiddles in inns to selling hats to tourists. And it all starts on TV anyway, where the dialect is permanently faked. "Zakopane has never been so purely Highlander, because it's a conglomeration of visitors, enthralled by the Tatra Mountains, who have already stayed here, which is why you won't see dialect in the center and people in churches wearing Highlander clothes. In contrast, things are different in the villages. My entire school life up to high school was associated with Zakopane, but I lived in the countryside. Only for confirmation was I in the countryside, where I was the only one not in highlander clothes. Needless to say, I was rejected by the community because of this," he adds. His dad is from northern Poland, so he never felt so connected 100% to Podhale.
I'll sell the plot for a hotel
Neighboring Szczyrk is also seen as getting more touristy every year. It has changed a lot after the new ski lift and ski trails were built by the Slovaks. A resident of that town recalls to me that residents were even blackmailed into agreeing to lease their plots of land for a pittance, as investors threatened that construction would not continue. "Before this construction, most of the capital belonged to local entrepreneurs from Szczyrk or Bielsko. Now most of the plots are being sold to developers, causing the population to drop."
There is work, even in the off-season, especially in factories or tourist facilities. Szczyrk has also become a center for highland weddings, which generates additional jobs. Residents are quite indifferent in the whole process, sometimes calling for clarification of local plans due to the rampant development of recent years. They vote with decisions rather than petitions. Although Szczyrk is a beautiful place, many people are beginning to consider moving to other, less crowded places. Currently, most of the plots of land are being sold to developers, and investments are being made by entrepreneurs from all over Poland who decide to become developers. "Plots of land cost so much that no one builds here to live anymore. If you have a plot of land, you sell it to a developer, and with the money from the sale you buy a house in the neighborhood or a plot of land and put up a house," a resident recalls to me.
Prices in pubs always go up before Corpus Christi,
well, unfortunately, they don't drop later after the season.
They remain tied to tourism
Let's move to the north of Poland. Kąty Rybackie, located between the Gdansk Bay and the Vistula Lagoon. "Growing up it was pleasant, but there were no trips with parents, because after all, 'this is where you come to relax'". - another interviewee recalls to me. Her parents always managed to rent a few rooms and thus earn extra income during the summer season. Among other things, this allowed her to go to Gdansk.
"Those who stayed mainly had no financial support from their parents. A few came back after graduation, but most, about 70% of my friends, changed their place of residence. Those who remained areusually associated with the tourism industry," he continues. In Fisherman's Corner, there is little chance of finding a job outside the summer season, although the season now seems to be extending somewhat. Residents accept this state of affairs, glad that, unlike in other localities, they have a chance to benefit from summer infrastructure and an additional influx of cash. My interviewee also points out that she is frustrated by the lack of a coherent plan for the space and the construction of facilities on the fly, without due thought. "Unfortunately, I often see ugly tents, stalls and makeshift booths. Even the rental houses leave much to be desired in terms of quality," she recalls with regret.
In the off-season, the streets are empty
Mazury. In Mragowo, job prospects are limited, with mostly seasonal work in tourism or at a supermarket chain. "For young people who are not interested in these industries, employment options are few. Many people of my age, including myself, decided to leave, which did not happen out of pleasure, but rather out of necessity to find decent work," - my interviewee recalls to me.
Restaurants closed in the off-season
© Magdalena Milert
Outside the summer season, the town becomes almost extinct. The streets become emptier, there are half as many cars and people. The town is becoming depopulated, with mainly older residents and those with "no major life ambitions," as he puts it, remaining. In addition, a few entrepreneurs dominate the tourist market, owning bars and hotels, making it very difficult for newcomers to break through. Many of those who grew up there complain about the situation, but there seems to be no hope for any improvement.
Every year new businesses are visible,
that change the recreational atmosphere of the lake and boardwalk
to the kitschy style familiar from the sea.
The art of lasting
"It is quite interesting that Uniejów has turned into a tourist town in the last 20 years. I could literally watch this transformation. I grew up in a very different place, where there was not much talk of development. This was accompanied by a lack of job prospects. I left for college and in the meantime things started to happen, people from all over Poland started to move in. For the moment, meeting natives in the city really borders on the miraculous," another interviewee recalls to me. The huge funds obtained from the European Union for investment are reflected in the space. Everything was practically done from scratch.
At that time, of course, locals invested in rooms, lodgings, cottages - on a massive scale. "There is now a chance for some work in the off-season, but you know - it's easier in the season. The gastronomy has also developed a lot, there used to be 5 establishments, today with 20," he adds. Residents have divided opinions, some live from tourism, others are very disturbed by such crowds coming through. However, no one objects. This is evident even in the elections - the same mayor has been in power unchanged for more than 20 years. "Actually all the changes have taken place during his reign," he says. - he concludes.
Freedom Square in Węgorzewo
© Magdalena Milert
Tourism vs. development
I could multiply similar stories. Tourism is a key factor in the socio-economic development of many cities not only in Poland, but all over the world. On the eve of our vacations, trips and vacations, it is worth reminding ourselves that it can also negatively affect a city and local community in various ways. Although it brings with it many benefits, often planned from the top down, with a focus on the development and promotion of the region, the lack of control and reign over the process can result in a number of adverse effects, known as tourismization. Although the definition of the process is not clear, it has become accepted that the term describes the totality of the negative aspects of tourism's impact on the environment and the local community[1].
One of the main areas that can be negatively affected is the economic impact. Although we originally think of tourism as a way to earn money, for regional development, along with it usually follows an increase in the price of goods and services. This is a common effect of increased tourist activity, targeting people from larger, urban areas. Higher housing prices and increases in local taxes are other challenges facing residents of tourist cities. The direct displacement of local people from their home neighborhoods, known as the gentrification process, is also present.
Socio-cultural impacts are also an important aspect. With the increase in tourist traffic, aimed especially at the typical vacationer, the frequency of police interventions increases, which is strongly correlated with alcohol abuse. Social conflicts between local communities and tourists are increasing, and there is also a process of commercialization of culture. Traditions and customs are being reduced to the role of commodities for sale, and this can lead to the obliteration of a city's authentic cultural identity (see Zakopane, for example). Threats to cultural heritage, such as disappearing rituals and traditions, pose another challenge for local government officials and communities. Indirect displacement of residents further exacerbates these problems.
Theenvironmental impacts are also significant. Noise and pollution of air, water, soil and waste are typical problems that can result from excessive tourism. Land degradation, acts of vandalism, congestion and traffic or parking problems (often to get closer to an attraction, hindering the ability of other traffic to reach it) are other aspects that can destroy the natural beauty and tranquility of urban areas.
Thetourism of historic downtown districts of many European cities has already been widely described[2], and in many places also protested. However, this process is also affecting smaller cities, which are practically dying out in the off-season. It's as if someone had turned on StandBy mode in them[3]. The consensus that excessive tourism can kill a city, while there are no uniform, effective tools to combat and eliminate the negative effects in the largest cities, can be discouraging. However, it is worth noting that it is in smaller cities that it is much easier to make a change, it is a different scale of management.
Tourism is a phenomenon that affects all urban processes. Local communities must adapt to the changes brought about by tourism. For residents, this means a form of dispossession that is both material and emotional[4]. The main role in regulating and controlling tourism, however, is played by local governments.
It is important to understand tourism in all its complexity, which requires a new approach in city management to avoid distancing residents, eliminating conflicts, keeping abreast of new technological and other changes, having monitoring tools and flexible tourism planning strategies, and above all remembering that "there is no such thing as foolproof planning."[5]
The best way to mitigate tourism and help create a healthy and sustainable tourism industry is through a combination of top-down, local and conscious tourism efforts. These efforts will have a profound effect on erasing many of the controversies currently caused by tourismization and designing tourism for decades to come. Although scholars in the urban tourism literature focus on the most famous cities, recommendations for curbing, remodeling and reorganizing traffic can be extended to small-town tourism. In the end, it's not about killing the tourism industry, but about moderation, balance. And we, in our travels, should remember that we are guests in places where someone else lives.
Magdalena Milert
[1] The Dark Side of Touristification Phenomenon. A Short Point of View. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/368773454_The_Dark_Side_of_Touristification_Phenomenon_A_Short_Point_of_View [accessed May 2024].
[2] urbanNext (May 1, 2024) Touristification: How Tourism and Gentrification are Changing the Cities around the World. Retrieved from https://urbannext.net/touristification-how-tourism-and-gentrification-are-changing-the-cities-around-the-world/.
[3] standby mode
[4] Cocola-Gant, A. (2023). Place-based displacement: Touristification and neighborhood change. Geoforum, 138, 103665.
[5] Martins, M. (2020), The impact of touristification in urban neighborhoods-The caseof Lisbon, in Oskam, J.A.. (Ed.) The overtourism debate, Emerald Publishing Limited,Bingley, 137-150.
