Excessive tourist traffic concentration in cities of high tourist attractiveness often leads to overtourism, manifested, among others, by overcrowding in appealing areas and means of transport, rising prices, or degradation of natural and cultural resources. The effects of an excessive number of tourists include an unfavourable change in the local community’s attitude towards tourists. The paper determines the extent and forms of overtourism symptoms in Wrocław, Poland. The research allowed for the identification of negative and positive effects of tourist traffic in Wrocław as perceived by three groups of respondents: experts, Wrocław residents: key experts from the scientific, administrative, planning, and business communities; people directly involved in tourist services; and students of tourism. The crucial part was direct research, conducted in November 2019 with a questionnaire technique. The results confirm symptoms of overtourism in Wrocław, but the threat is not significant. The article shows specific potential overtourism threat factors; the respondents’ opinions did not significantly differ between the groups. The presented findings and conclusions may be useful in developing the tourism policy of this and other cities, especially regarding sustainable development of tourism and the potential threat imposed by overtourism. The methodology may be used in similar comparative studies in other cities.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the human resources management of regional tourism organizations (RTOs) in Poland as a condition for organization effectiveness and presents a model of RTO operation in destination management organizations for improved effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: The study was of qualitative nature because of the scope of the examined features and analyses of RTO effectiveness (here in relation to human resources). The research involved the following stages: desk research of secondary sources, pilot diagnostic survey and diagnostic survey proper, qualitative and statistical analyses. First, an analysis of secondary sources regarding conditions of RTO operation effectiveness took place. Next, a questionnaire was used to collect empirical data from 137 respondents from the same 13 group types, in equal numbers from each organization in the entire population of 16 RTOs. Findings: The research identified 197 organizational effectiveness variables, in four feature groups: the effectiveness of statutory and economic objectives, stakeholders’ benefits from cooperating with RTOs and general characteristics of RTO operation effectiveness. The findings suggest that the characteristics of RTO employees influence organizational effectiveness, especially from the perspective of the organization’s stakeholders. There is a need for strong support for RTO employee structures as a measure to raise organization effectiveness. Practical implications: Specific human resources practices are identified for the effectiveness of non-enterprise organizations (employee character and structure) that constitute an essential component of the management system at regional and national levels. New directions for RTO operations are also proposed. Originality/value: The study fills a substantial and identified knowledge gap in assessing organization effectiveness level against the quality characteristics of RTO human resources. The analysis allowed the creation of a multidimensional and universal model of RTO effectiveness investigation, which facilitates comparative analysis of organizations despite their strong diversity. It can be implemented in assessing the effectiveness of other non-enterprise organizations in the context of tourism.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourism industry has been hit by the biggest crisis in its history. Its effects are visible throughout the tourism industry, including the management system (DMOs). The study aim is to the determine the changes that have been taking place in the operation of the destination management organizations (DMOs) in Poland as a result, including the usage of existing or expected organizational support tools. The study consisted of three stages: desk research, diagnostic survey, and qualitative and statistical analyses. Empirical data from all 16 regional DMOs in Poland were collected, including the use and effectiveness of the anti-crisis assistance programs, expectations towards the support tools, actions taken to mitigate the pandemic effects, and the changes in selected marketing activities and support strategies in the pre- and post-pandemic period. The study results indicated the insufficient availability of tools supporting the organizations’ activities during a pandemic and little use by the DMOs of most of the tools offered by the anti-crisis programs, alongside a moderate assessment of their effectiveness. The need to modify anti-crisis programs and/or expand them to include other forms of assistance available to the DMOs was identified. The proposed research tool can be implemented to assess the necessary actions taken during the crisis in other types of tourism organizations in various regions.

A key research question that fits within the main objective is to identify the negative and positive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the functional relationships between members of regional tourism organizations (RTOs) in Poland. The study consisted of three stages: desk research, a diagnostic survey, as well as qualitative, and statistical analyses. Empirical data from all 16 Polish RTOs (regional DMOs) on 19 variables were collected. No significant symptoms of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the functional relationship between RTOs and their stakeholders were found, except for the observed increased number of limitations of RTOs’ activities aimed at benefiting their members. As part of the study’s secondary objectives, key variables and methods were indicated. They identify the functional relationships of RTOs with member entities, with the environment, and are useful in building the effectiveness of the organization at the regional level in crisis situations. As the pragmatic goal of the study, a research tool was proposed that can be implemented to evaluate relations with the environment in other tourism destination management organizations at various levels of the tourism economy.

Introduction and objective: The growing population of the elderly, as well as the occurrence of coexisting diseases and polypharmacy, is the reason why diseases of patients aged ≥65 years belong to the major issues of the contemporary medicine. Among the most frequent diseases of the elderly, there are respiratory system diseases. They are difficult to diagnose because of the patient group specificity, which is the reason for increased mortality among seniors, caused by underdiagnosis. The study objective was to assess the factors influencing spirometry results in hospitalized patients aged ≥65 years with respiratory system disorders. Material and methods: In the research, 217 (100%) patients aged ≥65 years who underwent spirometry at the Regional Medical Center of the Jelenia Góra Valley Hospital in Poland were analyzed. In the statistical analysis, the STATISTICA 9.1 program, the t-test, the Shapiro–Wilk test, the ANOVA test, and the Scheffé’s test were applied. Results: The majority of the patients (59.4%) were treated in the hospital. The most frequent diagnosis was malignant neoplasm (18%). The study showed a statistically significant dependence between the forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV₁), and FEV₁/FVC parameters and the time of hospitalization, as well as between the FVC and FEV₁ parameters and the age of patients. The FVC parameter values turned out to be dependent on the main diagnosis. Highest results were noted in patients with the diagnosis of sleep apnea or benign neoplasm. A low FVC index can reflect restrictive ventilation defects, which was supported by the performed analyses. Highest FEV₁/FVC values were observed in nonsmokers, which confirms the influence of nicotine addiction on the incidence of respiratory system diseases. Conclusion: The respondents’ sex and the established diagnosis statistically significantly influenced the FVC index result, and the diet influenced the FEV₁/FVC parameter result.