Spatial Diversity Of Counties Of The Warsaw Capital Region In Terms Of The Development Degree Of The Tourism Function In 2005-2017

The purpose of the article was an attempt to identify spatial diversity of counties in the Warsaw capital region in terms of the degree of development of the tourism function in the period of 2005- 2017. Measuring the tourist function of a county requires the use of indicators that enable comparisons with other administration units. Therefore, some indicators based on the number of tourists accommodated, the number of overnight stays and the number of beds in relation to the number of inhabitants and the area of a county were applied. Although single indicators carry a certain load of information, a more comprehensive description of counties in relation to the degree of development of the tourism function was made possible by the construction of a synthetic measure. Using Hellwig’s development measure, three rankings were constructed: using variables from 2005 and 2017 as well as using average values of variables of the whole analysed period. In the years 2005-2017, the capital city of Warsaw was a theoretical model for other counties and subregions in terms of the degree of tourism function development. An in-depth analysis of the value of indicators of each analysed year indicates that, while trends in each county were increasing in the analysed period, there were some minor fluctuations and decreases. The strongest position in the Warsaw capital region, apart from the capital city, was observed in the following counties: Pruszkowski, Legionowski and Otwocki. On the other hand, the most visible positive changes took place in West Warsaw and Grodziski counties.