Abstract:

Air quality significantly influences the development of tourism functions, especially in spa towns. As indicated by the presented research results, there is still a research gap concerning the environment's impact on tourism, considering the role of air quality in this process (Eusébio et al., 2021). The issue of air pollution and its consequences for tourism development are particularly significant, becoming a key factor in deciding on destination choice and length of stay in spa and tourist resorts (Zhang et al., 2020). According to Ritchie and Crouch, one of the main motivations for traveling is to escape the ordinary environment and find a place with a pleasant location where one can unwind from stress and psychological pressure (Ritchie & Crouch, 2003). Given these initial assumptions, this theoretical-empirical publication aims to examine the influence of selected factors (here: air quality) on decisions regarding choice of stay. It is worth noting that due to volume constraints of the publication, the research and analysis were limited to spa towns in Poland, where measurements of benzo(a)pyrene pollution concentrations are conducted. Importantly, on one hand, this limitation did not affect the quality of the research and the conclusions drawn from it; on the other hand, the results and ensuing conclusions serve as material for further research expansion, for example, to include all tourist and spa resorts in Poland.