Holidays in Venice – Preferences of Polish Tourists

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

<ns3:p>The article concerns the broader context of research on tourist preferences, which is one of the most important studies on tourism. Not only individual elements of tourist attractiveness, such as tourist attractions or tourist infrastructure, but also larger cities or entire regions have been assessed. Examining preferences, it is also necessary to know and understand the needs and behavior of consumers. Tourists’ motivation is crucial and has a significant impact on the functioning of tourist destinations. Tourist centers should take actions related to tourists’ preferences. This is one of the main conditions for the proper development of the tourist destination itself and its offer. Regardless of the assessment, every positive and negative opinion reflects the destination’s ability to attract tourists. Among the important places eagerly visited by tourists, the cities with all their tourist potential, including cultural values, infrastructure and all amenities, have been ranked very high. Among many European cities, Venice occupies an important place. It is one of the most frequently visited cities in Italy, whose image goes far beyond the borders of the country and continent. The first aim of the paper is to make an attempt to determine the tourist attractiveness of Venice according to the opinion of respondents from Poland. The second objective focuses on comparing the profile of a Polish tourist, provided by the Venice Department of Tourism, to an average tourist visiting the city. To achieve the research goals, the results of the diagnostic survey were analyzed. Questions were asked to 201 tourists from Poland. The main conclusion can be as follows: Venice with its important cultural values is perceived as an attractive city for tourists. Polish tourists visiting the city do not differ fundamentally from other tourists. They have similar motivations when deciding to go or not to go there. They evaluate the city’s values in a similar way and they perceive the city’s problems in similarly, including the problem of excessive tourism. Polish tourists also benefit from similar amenities.</ns3:p>