The impact of toursim'on financial situation and development of Polish towns (the case of middle-sized towns)

Celem opracowania jest wykazanie istotnej roli turystyki jako czynnika rozwoju miast średniej wielkości w Polsce. Wykazano wpływ funkcji turystycznej miasta na wielkość budżetów miejskich, wydatki budżetowe i zamożność mieszkańców.It is commonly acknowledged that tourism can be an important factor stimulating the economy at the national, regional and local level. The role of tourism in the development of the local economy can also be observed in Poland. The paper strives to prove that tourism can be a significant development factor for middle-sized towns. The influx of tourists is reflected in the volumes of the municipal budgets and, as a rule, the financial standing of towns with a well-developed tourist function is better than others. The tourist function also influences budgetary expenditures as tourist towns have higher expenditures related to the maintenance of cleanliness and order, promotion, development of road infrastructure, etc. The development of tourism is also reflected in the wealth of the local population, although not as much as in the level of personal income tax paid by the local citizens. This can be explained by the fact that a large part of tourist services - just as elsewhere in the world- is provided "off the record"