A GEOINFORMATIC ASSESSMENT OF THE GEOGRAPHICAL DIVERSITY OF POLAND, BASED ON DATA FROM THE STATE REGISTER OF GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES, SERVING AS THE BASIS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF AREAS OF TOURIST ATTRACTION

Abstract

The research aim was to distinguish areas characterised by different degrees of saturation with geographical objects identified as ones that determine landscape tourism values in Poland. The research was based on a spatial analysis of database created by the State Register of Geographical Names (Państwowy Rejestr Nazw Geograficznych), made available by the Main Geodetic and Cartographic Centre in Poland (Centralny Ośrodek Dokumentacji Geodezyjnej i Kartograficznej). The developed cartographic documentation of Poland reveals the country’s geographical diversity, thus implicating the varied potential of individual areas for tourism. The results of our analyses of the density of occurrence of non-standardised geographical names point to specific local values of areas located in eastern Poland, which deserve more detailed analysis and description. The method suggested herein for assessment of tourist attraction values can serve to distinguish areas attractive to tourists and to promote attributes which are known only locally.