An increase of the region's competitiveness through effective tourist product management: an example using the thematic trail

Abstract

The present article explores the possibility of increasing the competitiveness of regions by creating interesting tourist products that are based on local resources. An example of such a regional tourist product is the thematic (or ‘nature’) trail. The issue of trail management is also discussed using an example of a cultural trail. This review article used verified data from publicly available existing sources, including specialist literature and the internet. In addition to publicly available data, we used a case study approach using examples of the Culinary Trail “Podkarpackie Flavours” and the “Wooden Architecture Trail” of the Małopolska Voivodship. We analyzed the case study to answer the following question: “Can a tourist product of a region used in a network structure (such as a thematic trail) affect the region's competitiveness?”