Small-scale private accommodations in Polish rural areas

Small-scale private accommodations
in Polish rural areas
– business or hobby?
The study of Lublin region
Maria Bednarek-Szczepańska
Institute of Geography
and Spatial Organization
Polish Academy of Sciences
Small-scale private accommodations
in Poland



Small-scale accommodation
(guest rooms, agri-tourism
facilities) is perceived as an
important factor of economic
development, especially in
peripheral areas
It is stressed in regional
strategies of development and
plans of spatial organization of
all regions
Significant funds, national and
European, are directed
towards private
accommodation development
Numbe r of bed-places
„collective” accommodation
private accommodation
„Lublin region has
perfect conditions for
rural tourism
development”
Directions of Tourism
Development in Poland till 2015
„There are possibilities
of tourism function
development as an
important fa ctor of
economic activating”
Strategy of Socio-Economic
Development of Eastern Poland
„Tourism development
may be a factor of
economic activation and
source of income for
inhabitants”
Regional Plan of Spatial Organization
of Lublin Region
The Lublin
Region

Does tourist services constitute an
important source of income for their
providers?

Is offering tourist services a kind of
entrepreneurial activity?

What are the other, non-material
functions of the activity for
accommodation providers?
The Subject
and Study Area
22 communes
 110 small-scale
accommodations
 Semi-structured
personal interviews
 Time of research:
2007-2008

Entrepreneurial attitude…
Creating changes
and new things
Development
and innovation
Market orientation
Making use
of opportunities
Need for achievements
Creativity
Taking a risk
Brzo zowski 2007, Chmieliński 2007, Targalski 2006, Kuczek and Czekaj 2008, Sikorska-Wolak 2007 and others
Assessment of tourist offer
Criteria
S ymbol
Description
Agriculture-based tourist
offer
A
Attractions for tourists related to farming (access to garden and
farm products, contact with farm animals for children,
possibility of taking part in works on the farm and so on)
Diversity of tourist offer
D
Minimu m 5 elements of tourist offer excluding those mentioned
above (eg. access to sport equipment, facilit ies for children,
guides and other publications for tourists, organization of trips)
Specialization of tourist
offer
S
Orig inal and unusual tourist products or products directed to
specified groups of tourists.
Equipment of the lodging
E
Rooms equipped with bathroom and one criterion of the
following: categorization of lodging, separate kitchen for
tourists, rooms equipped with TV set, access to the internet
Types of tourist offer
of the studied accommodations
A – agriculture-based
tourist offer
E – level of equipment
D – variety of tourist
offer (services, nonagricultural attractions)
S – specialization,
original products
N – no criteria met
DES
ADSE
DE
DS
E
AE
ADS
D
ADE
A
N
AD
There is an insufficient specialization of
the tourist products. Only a small part of
the studied accommodation providers
offered professional and competitive
products.
 Tourist offer is most often based on
what is already available in the
households supplying those services.
 Accommodation providers undertake
mostly those forms of activities that are
not associated to the significant costs and
risks.
 They realize a strategy of moderate
development of their tourist offer or the
„survival” strategy

40
35
30
50% or more
25
less than 10%
40-50%
20
15
30-40%
10
5
0
0-199
200-399
400-599
600-799
800-999
1000 i
powyżej
Number of overnight
stays
provided
liczba udzielonych
rocznie
nocleg ów to tourists
Number of accommodation
facilities
liczba kwate r
Number of accommodation
facilities
liczba kwater
Share of income from tourism
in the total income of household
45
10-20%
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0-1 9
2 0-39
40-5 9
60-7 9
8 0-99
100 i po wyżej
liczba udzie
lonych rocznie
noclegów
na jedno mie
jsceone bedplace
Number of overhight
stays
provided
to tourists
per
20-30%
Regional tourism centers versus other areas
Accommodation
facilities in
regional tourism
centers
Accommodation
facilities outside
regional tourism
centers
Arithmetic
Mean
630
383
Median
418
165
Arithmetic
Mean
44
30
Median
35
21
Arithmetic
Mean
28
17
Median
20
10
Measure
The number of overnight stays per year
The number of overnight stays per year
per one bed-place
Share of income from tourism in the
total income of household
Time
Gradual increase
Standard and quality
of tourist offer
Standard and quality
of tourist offer
Standard and quality
of tourist offer
Standard and quality
of tourist offer
Changes of standard and quality of tourist
offer
Time
Decrease
Time
Stagnation
Time
Major increase
Mechanism of sustaining economic
stagnation of tourist businesses
Encouragement from centers
of agricultural consultancy
Starting
the business
Insufficient
capital
Small profits
Low number
of tourists
No/low investments
in tourist product
Low standard
of the offer
Are you satisfied with conducting the
tourism activity and its effects?
Why?
YES
90
80
70
%
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
non-material
benefits
financial
benefits
...our house is teeming with life, it is
entertainment, pleasure, my hobby,
there is somebody to chat,
we enjoy guests, possibility to meet
interesting people, nice atmosphere,
I can learn something
from people, we exchange
experiences...
Open-ended questions
Collecting of quantitative data
 In-depth insight into problem
 Understanding and explanation of
complicated and complex issues
 Individual, subjective opinions based on
personal experience and feelings
 Possiblity to learn the most important
issues from the perspective of the
interviewee
 Very useful in local research

The non-material functions of the activity for
accommodation providers
Educating
children
Getting
knowledge
Education
Exchange
of experiences
Having
company
Improving
social position
Forming
friendships
Socializing
Esteem
„Replacing”
family
Spending
free time
Entertainment
New challenge
Self-fullfilment
Hobby
Enjoyment
Fullfiling
one’s potential
Summary

Low share of income from tourism in the
households’ budgets, especially in the areas
outside regional tourism centers

Accommodation providers aren’t typical
entrepreneurs (low creativity, avoiding risk,
insufficient investments, low level of engagement
in building tourist products)

Non-material benefits are more significant for
accommodation providers than financial profits
The perspective of central,
regional and local authorities
Non-material
benefits
Economic
benefits
The perspective
of accommodation providers
Non-material
benfits
Economic
benefits
Thank You for Your
Attention