Tourist boom and rural revival - Case study of Kłodzko Region (SW Poland)

Rural areas in the Kłodzko Region were subject to a long-term depopulation, marginalization, and long-lasting socio-economic decline since the 19^th century. In recent years, however, the study area has been subject to a shift in socio-economic trends that show rural revival. The main goal of the research is to assess the actual role of tourism in socio-economic revival of rural areas in the Kłodzko Region. To determine the dynamics of the tourism function development, statistical data were used and an inventory of tourism beds in accommodation facilities was conducted. The results show that there was a substantial development of the tourism function in the study area and its most intense scale was noted in the depopulating villages, as evidenced by the increase in the numbers of tourism facilities and numbers of tourism beds. Therefore, it can be concluded that the development of tourism contributed to the limitation of negative socio-economic processes in the area and, in the case of some villages, even to the reversal of these trends, which might testify to the rural revival. Moreover, the improvement of the socio-economic situation is visible also in the villages that do not have significant tourist values but are in the neighbourhood of tourism hotspots. This observation might be important for forecasting future development and planning of rural areas.