The Department of Tourism and Health Resort Management functions under the Institute of Geography and Spatial Management of the Jagiellonian University since 1979, at first as the Department of Tourism Geography, and since 2000 under its current name. Research and educational activities of the Department refer to the Jagiellonian University College of Tourism that operated in 1936-1939. The Department's research covers a wide range of issues concerning the conditions, trends and forms of tourism development in Poland and the world, as well as the relationships between tourism and the natural environment and the various spheres of social and economic development.

THE HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT 

 

The early stage of scientific and educational activities in the field of tourism at Jagiellonian University is related with the establishment of College of Tourism in 1936. The head of the College of Tourism was Stanisław Leszczycki. Research activities conducted at the College covered a wide range of problems and concerned both theoratical and practical issues. Majority of the research were conducted in the Carpathian Mountains, but many studies also concerned the whole of Poland. The College contributed to the publication of: 6 volumes of the „Prace Studium Turyzmu” (Research of Tourism Studies), 23 issues of the „Komunikaty Studiów Turyzmu UJ” (Announcements of the College of Tourism, Jagiellonian University) and the journal „Turyzm Polski” (Tourism of Poland; 1938–1939).

After World War II, Antoni Wrzosek continued research on issues related to the geography of tourism at Jagiellonian University. His mainly research interests and studies was devoted to mountainous areas. It i also worth to emphasis that issues related to tourism were also the subject master theses which were written under his supervision. In the 1960s, two important studies written by Jadwiga Warszyńska were published - a tourism monography on Hungary and the study related to the tourist function of Cracow. It i also worth to remind that in the years 1968–1973, „Bibliografia Turystyki Polskiej” (Bibliography of Polish Tourism)  was published in 7 volumes. It was pioneering study written by Antoni Jackowski.

The important breakthrough in the development of geography of tourism at the Institute of Geography, Jagiellonian University took place in the 1970s. In 1977 the first and the only in whole Poland specialization in geography of tourism was launched and the Department of Tourism Geography was established in 1979 and it was headed by Jadwiga Warszyńska. At that time, majority of research were related to the tourism valorization issues. It is worth to emphasis one of the publication from 1970s – „Podstawy Geografii Turyzmu” (Fundamentals of the Geography of Tourism) written by Jadwiga Warszyńska and Antoni Jackowski. It should be also emphasized that this publication was the first textbook in this field in Poland

In the 1980s, most of the research concerned the issues related to typology of tourist destinations (Antoni Jackowski) as well as the impact of tourism on socio-economic changes in villages (Włodzimierz Kurek) and the conditions and functioning of health resorts (Jerzy Groch), while at the beginning of the 1990s extensive research on the pilgrimage movement were published by Antoni Jackowski.

Moreover since the 1990s, many research topics concerned the transformations in the field of tourism in relation to political transformations of the country. The greatest achievement of the Department of Tourism Geography was the monography “Geografia Turystyczna Świata” (World Tourist Geography, PWN)  edited by Jadwiga Warszyńska (1st edition 1994). It contains information on all countries of the world (in part 1 - European countries, in part 2 - non-European countries).

Since 1994 the head of the Department of Tourism Geography was Włodzimierz Kurek. Currently the department is named Department of Tourism and Health Resort Management and its head since 2015 is Mirosław Mika