Search

The paper connects culture, tourism and rural development. It tries to make an overview of various forms of cultural tourism in Czechia. Attractions of cultural tourism are identified and ranked according to their cognitive function. Their list includes cultural heritage in spheres of archaeological sites, architecture, arts, folklore, pilgrimages, technical works, cultural events or protected landscape areas. The culture of wine in Southern Moravia has been chosen as an example. Its analysis was elaborated using the Importance/Performance Analysis. Czechia has great potential for the cultural tourism development in rural areas but it seems to demand a great deal of work when one needs to be constantly reconciling the changing interests of tourists with the potential of the regions. One of the important goals is to attract tourists into rural areas and thus limit their concentration in the most attractive places. Rural cultural tourism seems to be a significant aspect in this respect. The part of the study is the example of the adaptation of the current situation with COVID-19 to properly support the development and cultural potential of domestic tourism in South Moravian region in relation to the economic impacts on international tourism.

The paper focuses on the changes to the industrial structure of small Moravian towns as these towns are part of the settlement structure that connects urban and rural systems. Small towns (of up to 15,000 inhabitants) are the most industrialized part of the Czech settlement system. They were the subject of capitalist industrialization in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as well as socialist industrialization in the second half of the twentieth century. Therefore, the research question asks how the small-town sector coped with the transition to a post-productive society and how small towns were differentiated during this process. Population censuses were the main tool used to gather data for comparison. Today, small towns have preserved, in particular, less innovatively demanding industries, which have been pushed out of large and medium-sized cities. At the same time, they are undergoing a process of post-productive transformation which is associated with a massive transfer of job opportunities to services, but they can also become starting points for cultural tourism in rural areas. However, their future development will be very differentiated depending on their location concerning regional centres, on the quality of human and social capital and also on their historical pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents and discusses the visible effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on cultural tourism in Czechia, Europe. The pandemic has caused or accelerated certain changes. Mainly urban destinations focusing on foreign tourists (e.g., Prague) were affected by the pandemic. However, despite the significant decline in tourism as an industry, the seeds of positive changes can be traced. For example, domestic tourists have discovered the appeal of the rural regions of their homeland. The trend has started to evolve from mass tourism to a more individual one. The decline of the workforce in tourism will likely result in the increase of more self-service forms of activities. Even though e-tourism cannot replace real experiences, it will contribute to a more deliberate selection of tourist destinations and services. Therefore, investing in a higher quality infrastructure should be a priority. The latest observations show that the main obstacle is insufficient cooperation among local stakeholders, such as entrepreneurs, public administration, or individual government departments. Czechia???s fundamental drawback is the lack of clear distinction of whether culture tourism falls into the economic sector or the cultural sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses the question: why do two destinations with extremely valuable cultural heritage gain attractions have completely different tourism traffic results? The main aim of this paper was to find the various causes of this inequality. The comparative method was used and Lednice and Dolní Kounice in Southern Moravia were selected as case studies. Statistical data and strategic documents on regional and local levels were analysed. The study showed significant differences in the strategic conceptual plans. Dolní Kounice was a more popular destination for suburban tourism for the inhabitants of Brno, the historical heritage was only an added value. In the case of Lednice, the use of its heritage for tourism was one of the main development priorities. This paper further noted that cultural tourism is often seen as a sector of the economy rather than a part of the culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main aim of the study was to find out whether cultural tourism could be a driver of rural development in the selected area and in general. In case yes, to what extent and under what conditions. Three districts in the South-Moravian Region, Znojmo, Břeclav, and Hodonín, situated in the rural borderland with Austria and Slovakia represented the study area. Both geographical and sociological methods were used to gather evidence for cultural tourism in that study. Firstly, attractiveness analysis of the area defined for cultural tourism took place. Next, factors influencing the potential for cultural tourism affecting rural development in South Moravia were evaluated. Finally, synergistic relations were discussed. In the territory, many forms of tourism intersect. Based on the results, it can be stated that cultural tourism can hardly be the main driver of rural development after the decline of agriculture because the region's economy has branched out in several directions. However, it can be an important complementary activity that yields both economic and non-economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]