The concept of tourism development as a factor increasing the tourism potential of rural communes – a case study

The phenomenon of outdoor advertising degrading the cultural landscape is especially alarming in areas that are under protection because of their landscape value. Those are the areas which experience a lot of pressure on account of the development of such functions as tourism, recreation and housing and their related services, which is closely associated with intensive outdoor advertising. The Lednica Cultural Park is an example of such area. This research sought to identify the scale of problems caused by the presence of advertisements in the study area. The results include the selection of places most heavily degraded by advertising, and the identification of tendencies in the way ads are located, their forms, areas, impact on the environment, and perception. The conclusions can help in defining the rules and conditions for managing public and private spaces in the rural areas for use in an advertising policy.Development of rural areas can include tourism attractiveness, which also can be developed with consideration for the natural, landscape, social and economic aspects. Tourism can also be a solution for the increase of economic values and life quality of the poorest rural communes. Hence, local authorities increasingly appreciate the role of tourism in their areas as a potential means of their social and economic development. When planning tourist routes, it is very important to remember about the natural potential, together with its protection. On the other hand, the forest, water and valuable protected areas are usually the most important touristic values influencing the general index of the tourism potential. The aim of the present study was to analyse the tourist potential of rural areas before and after the proposed tourism development and establishment of protected areas in a selected commune area – Łubianka, Poland. For this purpose, the tourist, associated and environmental indices were taken into consideration. The current general index of tourism potential classified the analysed area at the lowest level in the region. The proposed tourism development and creation of a nature protection area and objects caused an increase of tourist and associated values of analysed area, improved tourism potential, and placed the commune in a better position in the region. Overall, it can be concluded, that relatively simple activities can improve the tourism potential and furthermore, as a result an improvement in the social and economic status of the local community can be noted.