Spatial Variation in Tourism and Investment Potential in the Context of Sustainable Development—A Case Study of Staszowski County

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study was to assess spatial variation in the tourism and investment potential of Staszowski County and to indicate possibilities for sustainable development of tourism in the area. The method of synthetic measures was used for the analysis, taking into account 45 features characterizing the tourism and investment space, including tourism assets, the state and protection of the environment, transport accessibility, hotels, eating establishments and supplementary facilities, service and technical infrastructure, population relations, and commune finances. The features were analysed using geostatistical and statistical tools. The analyses, despite certain methodological limitations, indicated that there is still great potential for more sustainable development of tourism in the county. The spatial distribution of the features did not show a tendency to form clusters, but most of them were located in the centre of the study area, in two communes—Staszów and Połaniec. The most attractive commune in terms of tourism and investment was Staszów, with strong tourism assets and a well-developed service and technical infrastructure. This commune, however, has one of the lowest environmental protection indices in the county.