The modern tourist’s perception of the beach: is the sandy beach a place of conflict between tourism and biodiversity?
Jedrzejczak, M.F. (2004). The modern tourist’s perception of the beach: is the sandy beach a place of conflict between tourism and biodiversity?, in: Schernewski, G. et al. Managing the Baltic Sea. BaltCoast 2004: conference proceedings, Warnemünde, Germany, 26 - 28, April 2004. Coastline reports, 2004(2): pp. 109-119 In: Schernewski, G.; Löser, N. (Ed.) (2004). Managing the Baltic Sea. BaltCoast 2004: conference proceedings, Warnemünde, Germany, 26 - 28, April 2004. Coastline reports, 2004(2). EUCC/The Coastal Union: [s.l.]. 280 pp., more In: Coastline reports. EUCC/The Coastal Union: Leiden. ISSN 0928-2734, more |  |
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| Abstract | As economic growth gave people more free time, since the 1950s coastal areas have becomeincreasingly desirable holiday destinations, and beach tourism has grown at an enormous rate,becoming a mass phenomenon. Next to their ecological importance as bio-filters, sandy beaches inEurope tend to be of great economic value through tourism. Although, modern tourists are largelypeaceful, tourism itself creates much damage to the environment. Nowadays a common feature ofthe European seas is the diffusion of plastic debris on the coasts, either abandoned by beach usersor deposited by the sea during storms.There are some 4 to 8 million tourists vacationing each year on Polish beaches. What is thepurpose of their visit to the beach? What things do they most dislike there? What is the perfectcoastal landscape of the sea for them? What is their imagination of the beach life? Questionnairesurveys, carried out during summer 2003, aimed at ascertaining what public opinion was/isregarding the beach, were useful to answer these questions. At each site, from 80 to 160 peoplefilled out the questionnaires asking what their opinion was of the beach, scenery, animals andaesthetics.In a modern, democratic society, the public stakeholders, not the experts are having the final word.It creates, however, problems with public opinion: there is seldom direct experience (visual,practical), and there is no common perception of values. Do we really have similar values? Formany, the plastic net covers on cliffs and the coastal motorways are more attractive thanunderdeveloped shore. |
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