Tourist Traffic in National Parks in Poland

The article aims to assess the size of tourism in national parks in Poland in 2004-2017, with particular emphasis on the Tatra National Park (TPN), a park with high tourist attendance. The study investigates the dynamics of tourism in national parks as well as the size, character and spatial distribution of tourism in the TPN. It also shows the conditions of tourist traffic management innational parks and its importance both for nature and for the budget of these organizational units. The analysis was based on data from the studies of the Central Statistical Office concerning environmental protection and data concerning the access to the Tatra National Park. The dominant features of tourism include its dynamic growth in the period under study and record attendance in the Tatra National Park, especially around August 15 on the trail leading to the Morskie Oko lake and the Valley of FivePolish Lakes (Dolina Pieciu Stawow Polskich).