Innovations in Tourism Policy: the Case of Poland

Competitiveness depends to a large extent on innovation. This is true about tourism also. This article focuses on the differences in innovations implemented in the field of tourism policy. The main aim of this article is to evaluate the differences in innovations in tourism policy. The key hypothesis suggests that in the countries undergoing the process of transformation, introduction of innovations is difficult and depends to a large extent on the capability to adopt the new post-industrial tourism paradigm. Poland serves here only as an exemplification of this phenomenon. An additional hypothesis suggests that public policy employs in practice more often “goal substitution” (instead of complex and demanding goals; for instance modernization or renovation instead of urban regeneration or culture or tourism), whereas the business sector is more product-oriented (in line with the new post-industrial paradigm). The article analyses public 2007-2013 strategies (and, to some extent, projects for 2014-2020), but first of all it compares the implementation of the strategy within the operational programs and in private sector activities. Finally, referring to Poland as part of the European Union, the paper proposes that new EU regulations may bring a change in non-product approach to tourism development policy.