Ariel Ciechański

Abstract

This paper has sought to give some insights into the means of transport used by the 38 largest tour operators seated in Poland. The research is based on in-depth analysis and uses data from a number of tourism and transport sources. Results indicate a great concentration of the servicing of organised tourist traffic within a relatively small number of wholesalers. Basically, the effects of air carriers to date are hardly to be overestimated, and this is especially true of an assessment of recent developments as regards charter flights from/to Poland. Coaches play a much lesser role in the servicing of organised mass tourist traffic, while other means of transport (cruise ships, railways) are used only occasionally. Overall, the analysis carried out characterises the country’s leisure travel market as one which is only at the early stages of maturity.

Keywords: transport for tourism, passenger carriers, airlines, coaches, cruise ships, railways, tour operators, package holidays, tourism-exporting economy

Zbigniew Taylor [z.taylor@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland
Ariel Ciechański [ariel@twarda.pan.pl], Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00‑818 Warszawa, Poland