When starting any activity and trying to reach a particular group with something we have to offer, we must first define that group. It is no coincidence that the article began with a reference to taking measurements for a suit. This text is about tourism. Several fundamental questions need to be asked:

  • who is our tourist?
  • how old is the tourist?
  • which social groups do they identify with?
  • where do they come from? Did they have to travel a long way for their “suit”?
  • how much do they intend to spend on their “outfit”?
  • do they need anything besides the “suit”? Perhaps a tie? A shirt and elegant cufflinks? Shoes? Or perhaps they do not know yet?
  • finally: how long will they wear this “suit”, and when will they come back for the next one?

The city, in cooperation with local-government units and businesses, should create a networked tourism product and then promote it. A new institution was recently established in Bolesławiec that could be a very important element of such cooperation – the Tourist Information Point (PIT). The point existed before, but only now has it begun operating as an independent office.

Tourism-industry operators know tourists’ preferences and can play a key role in defining their profile. They know tourists’ needs most precisely; they know why visitors come, how long they stay, and whether they are willing to return for longer. And if so – what their expectations are.

Bolesławiec has business tourism, connected with various types of business travel, and shopping tourism, associated with ceramics. Transit tourists also appear here, but only briefly – this type of tourist does not need an “elegant suit”, but is willing to pay more for a good meal in an original atmosphere and, let us say, a modest ceramic souvenir. Business tourists, on the other hand, require luxury and high-quality entertainment. After feverish ceramic shopping, Germans and Americans would surely be happy to relax during a walk around the city (suitably adapted for this purpose), a bicycle trip, or a visit to a ceramics museum offering something more than static display cases.

Tourists’ needs should become the basis for creating a tourism product. Almost every PIT – both in Poland and abroad – conducts information and promotional activities by distributing and selling brochures, catalogues, guidebooks, and gadgets (lanyards, key rings, figurines, etc.). Such materials amount to “shooting blindly with ordinary bullets”, which may fail to achieve the intended result. Promotional gadgets will fulfil their role if they are original in form and execution. A lanyard printed with “Bolesławiec – the city of ceramics” would not be a very good idea. Miniatures of Joppe’s pot or commemorative ceramic coins that could be used to pay for ceramics or museum admission would be better. Local handicrafts should take the lead in such promotion. Creative and innovative ideas are worth their weight in gold.

Because of its many years of isolation, Poland is perceived as a grey country of little interest from a tourism perspective. We are aware of our country’s strengths, but most of Europe and the world associate Poland only with John Paul II and Lech Wałęsa (with all due respect to these great figures).

Poland is a relatively inexpensive country. In times of financial crisis, tourists will look for precisely such a “tourist suit” – attractive but inexpensive at the same time. Hairdressing, beauty and relaxation, and automotive services remain attractively priced, as do local food products (honey, goat’s cheese, preserves, dried mushrooms, etc.) and handicrafts (embroidery, sculptures, and Bolesławiec ceramics). The latter could become excellent tools for creating regional brands.

Tourist suits tailored in one day

Interesting ideas combined with investment in relatively inexpensive tourism and tourism-related infrastructure (signage, adapting roads and paths, benches, litter bins, etc.) are half the battle. The other half should be the launch of a suitably designed promotional machine. The bicycle trail in the Sudetic Foothills is an excellent example. Someone might ask, “Sure, but who actually makes money from it?” The fact is: very few people. But the trail could start generating profits if it were part of a networked tourism product.

Entrepreneurs were already saying two years ago that a tourism development strategy needed to be drawn up for our city. Unfortunately, little has changed since then. Bolesławiec is still poorly signposted (international brown tourism signs stand in absurd locations). Infrastructure needs to be expanded, not to mention creating a car park in the centre.

Given the current economic realities and the prospect of the A4 motorway being built, this really is the last call to act! If we do not wake up, after the bell we will suffer a technical knockout in the first second. A policy of inexpensive and attractive holidays in Poland (in Bolesławiec) is a way to avoid defeat.

Bolesławiec and the PIT face a major challenge. The point should pursue its own tourism policy, with the help of trained, experienced people full of fresh ideas. The PIT has been staffed with a relatively young team – this inspires great hope. May Bolesławiec and its PIT soon meet tourists’ expectations and create a product tailored to their needs.

Barbara Alaszewska, Jarosław Fink