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DOMINIKA BORÓWKA, ELWIRA MAZURKIEWICZ, PAULINA OKOŃ

project on the tourism potential of the city of Pułtusk and the Pułtusk commune, the cultural values of the region were one of the most important elements of their analysis. The ąuestionnaire focused on whether Pułtusk had a chance to become a tourist attraction and what the decisive factors were. The group also examined all the natural, social and economic aspects relevant to the evaluation. The preliminary study surprisingly showed that the region’s natural values are able to strongly compete with its cultural assets. However, the importance of cultural Capital cannot be underestimated, considering modem trends in regional development.

One of Pułtusk’s most famous attractions is the architectural layout of the town dating from the and 19^ century. The uniąue 400 meter long town market sąuare is the longest among all the paved market squares in Europę. In 1806, the most important battle in the city’s history was fought between the Russian army and Napoleon’s French army. Nowadays, Pułtusk honours the victorious French army with an annual re-enactment of the battle. An additional advantage of Pułtusk is its localisation on the route ffom Warsaw to Masuria - one of Poland’s most attractive regions for tourism.

Research indicated that 67 percent of ąuestioned Pułtusk’s inhabitants have a positive attitude towards tourists visiting their town. 78 percent of the ąuestioned citizens considered the number of tourists in Pułtusk to be unsatisfactoiy. Interestingly, 50 percent of the tourists that were ąuestioned in Pułtusk, declared the attractions of the town and its vicinity to be the reason of their arrival (78 percent mentioned the castle - The Polonia House - as the main local attraction).

Research was also conducted in Warsaw and its suburbs. Those respondents who admitted miting Pułtusk were asked additional ąuestions. As results showed, 32 percent declared that the reason of their visit was a break during travel, while 29 percent declared the Pułtusk as their main destination for sightseeing. These figures indicate that “transit” tourism (a travel rest combined with sightseeing) and tourism related to the local monuments are the main reasons to visit Pułtusk. Interestingly, 67 percent of the investigated visitors were not able to mention any monument in Pułtusk.

Key words: urban tourism, historie and cultural values, Pułtusk, tourists’ and inhabitants’ opinions about the town