Krzysztof Kołodziejczyk

Abstract

Most of the Polish-Czech borderland is of great tourist attractiveness and has a considerable potential for tourism development. In order for a tourist region to function properly, appropriate public transport is necessary,which in the analysed case also includes cross-border transport. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the level of development of cross-border public transport in the Polish-Czech borderland from the perspective of its attractiveness and the development of tourism functions. Despite the fact that both Poland and Czechia joined Schengen the development of cross-border journeys’ range has been relatively slow (in some cases even diminishing). The coordination of services organised by the two countries is poor in terms of routes and timetables (in the latter case especially taking into account tourists’ needs). Locations where it is possible to cross theborder using means of public transport are located irregularly and do not always correspond with the tourist attractiveness of a region. For the tourists who do not have a vehicle or for those who consciously refrain from using the car on holidays, the border is still a barrier.

Keywords: public transport, transport accessibility, borderland, Poland, Czechia, tourism

Krzysztof Kołodziejczyk [krzysztof.kolodziejczyk@uwr.edu.pl], Uniwersytet Wrocławski, Instytut Geografii i Rozwoju Regionalnego