The Role of Sustainable Tourism in Local Development

The development of tourism has undoubtedly brought many benefits to regions often visited by tourists, such as increased employment, infrastructure development and even cultural revival. However, not all effects of this phenomenon are positive. In recent years, there has been a growing dissatisfaction of local communities with the attitude of tourists and their impact on the quality of life. Scientific research confirms the existence of groups of local communities that have different opinions on the implementation of tourist goals in a given region. Some groups may see the economic benefits resulting from the development of tourism, while others may focus on the negative effects, such as excessive crowding, environmental pollution or an increase in housing rental prices. Strong connections can be seen between the quality of life of the local population and participation in the tourism product. The problem of sustainable development of tourism is becoming more and more important in terms of the growing problems of local communities. Local communities express their opposition to mass tourism and its uncontrolled activities, which cause problems that local authorities have to face. The restrictions introduced are intended to control tourism and reconcile many interests of market participants. The aim of the work is to examine the activities of local authorities in the aspects of sustainable tourism that they can undertake in tourist areas. The analysis focuses on the activities undertaken by local authorities to regulate tourism and ensure the sustainable development of tourist areas. An important element of the analysis is the assessment of the effectiveness of these activities in the context of sustainable development and protection of tourist resources. The work aims not only to identify the activities undertaken by local authorities, but also to assess their impact on tourist areas and the possibility of improving the activities in the future. In this way, the work makes an important contribution to the discussion on sustainable tourism and the role of local authorities in promoting and regulating it. The study uses the method of studying scientific literature, analyzing the results of secondary research and survey that was conducted in Poland. Results were illustrated with the Cronbach's alpha coefficient defining the consistency of the responses. This shows that legal regulations and economic factors implemented by local government authorities can significantly affect sustainable development in the region.