This paper will present a systematic review of the main publications for landscape and tourism research in Scopus and polish language databases. These were used to identify papers on landscape and tourism published from January 2003 to September 2013. A total of 382 articles and 37 other sources were identified, but 116 analysed. The analysis, focusing on the explicated relation between landscape and tourism, shows that it is a new but growing concern for geographers, ecologists, and landscape architects contributing to the debate. The result is a veritable smorgasbord of definitions and approaches. The objective of this paper is to systematise the current knowledge on tourism and landscape, review the existing definitions of the term “tourist landscape”, and determine its aspects and components in the context of proper functioning of regions. The paper concludes with a tentative definition of a tourist landscape and proposals for further scholarly research and some policy advice.

Although the centrality of landscape to tourism is unquestionable and already a broadly established scientific area of research, much remains to be explored and understood regarding their interrelatedness. The objective of this research was to investigate, analyze and assess notions and perceptions of the reciprocal relationship between the landscape and tourism through an electronic survey among European researchers and scientists of relevant and associated academic fields. This was achieved with the aid of an interview questionnaire survey, focusing on the experts’ (a) perceptions/understandings and visions of future optimization of the reciprocal relationship tourism–landscape, (b) their conceptualizations of landscapes of tourism, and 9c) their assessments of the prospects (opportunities) and challenges (threats) coming out of the close tourism–landscape relationship, both for the tourism industry and the local societies involved. Our findings point to an emergence of a definition for “landscapes of tourism”. The experts elaborated on the high significance of the tourism–landscape relationship, through well-balanced and realistic opinions vis-à-vis the positive and negative aspects of the researched relationship but leaning towards its negative aspects. Overall, the findings reveal significant social sensitivities, environmental concerns, support for the principles of sustainability, locality, participatory governance and a call for appropriate governmental planning.

The article presents landscapes as natural, historical, cultural, social and political phenom-ena, and above all as a meaningful part of the environment. We will argue – by giving a contextual framework of landscape changes followed by four case studies from Central and Eastern Europe – that comprehen-sion of landscapes has declined in the 20thcentury. Along with urbanization, globalization and other societal processes rapidly varying socio-economic formations have caused alienation: changes in power result in changes in a society's values and thus some landscape elements are disintegrating, fading or disappear-ing and, as a result, these landscapes are taking on new, altered or modified appearances, functions and meanings. Every change in landscape needs some time to become accepted but if this re-coding of what is regarded as valuable is constantly changing, people become confused, with resultant physical conse-quences: land abandonment; illegal dumping; ill fitting infrastructures; inappropriate housing developments; etc. The main question is whether modern development, e.g. tourism, enhances the relationship between people and the landscape.

The investigation relates to the human-environment relationships in the development of geotourism. The study is focused on the stonemasonry heritage of the historical Stonework Centre in Brusno Stare – a former, now non-existent village, abandoned after World War II, in SE Poland. The “stonemasonry” heritage was included into the potential Kamienny Las na Roztoczu Geopark. Preparation of these usable, sacral, sepulchral objects, as well as the quarry requires geological and historical interpretation to become cultural geosites. The aim of the present study is to highlight the importance of the interpretation of these objects based on the combination of knowledge in the fields of geology, history, and culture. This objective has been achieved by querying available literature, inventory, and assessments of geosites. The conceptual spatial-temporal model has been proposed to illustrate the holistic approach to the potential cultural geosites considered in the manuscript. The results obtained in the study indicate the scientific, educational, and geotouristic potential of the stonemasonry heritage of the ancient Stonework Centre of Brusno Stare. Popularization and promotion of these objects is needed to make them attractive cultural geosites and contribute to the development of geotourism in the Roztocze area.