Attitudes of Tourists Towards Hoteliers' Aid for Refugees From Ukraine in Krynica-Zdrój: A Case Study

Background

Krynica is a 10,000 spa and tourist town located in south-eastern Poland in Beskid Sądecki, about 330 km from Lviv in Ukraine and about 230 km from the Polish-Ukrainian border. The spa properties of the local springs were recognized already in the 18^th century, and in the 19^th century spa activities were carried out in facilities built for this purpose. It is also a mountain tourist town, known for its hiking trails and winter sports. The following mountains are the attractions: Jaworzyna Krynicka, the Park Mountain, as well as cyclical events: Festival of Jan Kiepura, the Running Festival or the Economic Forum, referred to as the “Polish Davos”.

Historically, Krynica was under the so-called Austrian partition when Poland was erased from the pages of history from the end of the 18^th to the beginning of the 20^th century, and more specifically, it belonged to the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, functioning in the years 1771-1918 under the Habsburg Monarchy, and then, after 1967 of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During the First World War, after the escape of the authorities of Galicia and Lodomeria from the Russians from the capital in Lviv, Krynica was even a substitute capital of the Kingdom for some time. As history shows, Krynica is very close to Ukraine in terms of common history and socio-political experience from the past, which may explain the attitudes of the local authorities, hoteliers and the population. Let another example of this not only geographical proximity be the fact that the name of the city also functions in the Lemkos language written (also) in the Cyrillic alphabet, i.e. the Slavic language used by the Ruthenians living in the Transcarpathia in Ukraine, but also in areas of Poland, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary.