Let me introduce myself with some basic information about me, my work and passions - travelling and tourism exploration. I have also included details of some publications and an assortment of pictures.
About me
I was born in Cieniawa, near Nowy Sącz and graduated from the No. 1 Secondary School in Nowy Sącz. This was followed by studies in geography at Wyższa Szkoła Pedagogiczna (WSP) in Krakow. At the beginning of my studies I qualified as a mountain guide in the Beskidy Mountains and also obtained the qualificationsrequired to be a tourist guide. At WSP I was Chairman of the Student Geographical Association and Director of one of the PTTK branches and organized and led a large number of trips, especially Trekking for students. In 1970, after defending my thesis entitled "Tourism Functions of School Buildings in the Carpathian Mountains" I was awarded a Master's degree in Geography. In 1977 I was awarded a PhD degree on the strength of my research thesis "Tourism Qualities of the Carpathian Mountains as the Basis for Organizing Tourism in the Mountains", the research being carried out under the supervision of Dr. Teofila Jarowiecka.
Professional Career
1970-1972 - Student Assistant at Wyższa Szkoła Wychowania Fizycznego (WSWF) Krakow,
1972-1973 - Teacher at the No 10 Secondary School in Krakow,
1976-1977 - Assistant at the Institute for Tourism Organisation of the Academy of Physical Education in Krakow,
1977-1986 - Deputy Manager at the Institute for Tourism Organisation of the Academy of Physical Education in Krakow,
1990-1994 - Tutor (Adjunct) in the Institute of Tourism (Krakow Branch),
1987-1997 - Director of the Department of Tourism of the Academy of Physical Education in Krakow,
1997-1999 - Vice-director of the Institute of Tourism of the Academy of Physical Education in Krakow,
2006-2008 - Coordinator of project "Turystyka Wspólna Sprawa" in Malopolska,
2011–2014 – Head of the Department of Tourism Geography of the Academy of Physical Education in Krakow,
2010–2016 – associate professor in the Department of Tourism of the University of Economics in Katowice,
2016–2019 – Head of the Department of Environmental Sciences of the Academy of Physical Education in Krakow.
Current Professional Positions
Founder of the Publishing Company PROKSENIA,
Deputy to the chief editor of "Folia Turistica" magazine,
President of the Association of Tourism Experts,
President of the Tourist Guides Association of Małopolska from 2003,
President of the Polish Federation of Tourist Guides (2004–2010),
Head of the Department of Environmental Sciences of the Academy of Physical Education in Krakow.
in addition - Membership of the following scientific and social organizations
Polish Association of Tourism,
Polish Scientific Society of Physical Culture,
Polish Geographical Society,
Polish Association of Sight-seeing and Tourism,
Polish Ecological Club.
Other Activities
Mountain guide (II category) in the Beskidy Mountains,
Tour Leader,
Examiner in for Tour Leaders in the Examination Board for Małopolska,
Member of the Competence Council Sector Tourism.
Scientific Expertise
Geography of Tourism (regional aspects, tourism values and attractions, tourism routes),
Theory and Methodology of Tourism and sight-seeing,
Providing Information and the Promotion of Tourism,
Educating and training of professional staff in the Tourist Industry.
Organizing and leading annual, from 1976, expeditions (mountain trekking, tramping, round trips) to different parts of the globe for students of the Institute of Tourism at the Academy of Physical Education in Krakow. These expeditions provide students with good experience of travel organization - beginning from the start of preparation, to the journey itself and its subsequent use in educational discussion. The most interesting trampings are given below:
1969 - Baltic Cruise on board "Zawisza Czarny" - one month duration,
1983 - Tramping: Northern Hungary: the Beech Mountains and Matra, Eger, Miszkolc,
1985 - Tramping: the Yulian Alps reaching the peak of Mount Triglav Istria Peninsular, Dalmatia,
1991 - Expedition in the Caucasus, reaching the Elbrus peak, 5642 m 12'th July,
1993 - Tramping around Lake Baikal and Olchon island,
1994 - Karakorum Highway and finding an overground route to the border of India (Lahore); exploration in the region of Nanga Parbat and the Hunza Valley; the Silk Route Kaszghar, Biszkek,
1996 - Tramping round Scandinavia with the aim of reaching North Cape,
1999 - Tramping the Yulian Alps reaching the peak of Mount Triglav, Istria Peninsular, Lake Balaton,
1999 - Tramping in western Ukraine, the Gorgons and Montenegro, sight-seeing route following the trilogy of Sienkiewicz,
2001 - Tramping around the Levant: Romania - Bulgaria - Turkey (Cappadocia) - Syria (Palmyra) - Jordan (Petra, Wadi Rum desert) - Turkey,
2002 - Balkan peninsula (Bulgaria, Greece reaching the peak of Olympus, Macedonia - Ohrid, Serbia),
2003 - Sicily (reaching the peak of Etna)- Montenegro - Croatia,
2004 - Albania, Montenegro (reaching the peak of Mount Bobotov Kuk), Croatia,
2000 - Kenya, Tanzania, Tsavo National Parks, Serengeti, Ngoro-Ngoro, reaching the peak of Mount Kilimanjaro (5985 m),
2001 - United States from New York to California, 20 National Parks in USA, scaling Mont Whitney (4418 m),
2004 - Expedition round South America - Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Atacama Desert, Sajama (scaling the volcano), Yungas, Titicaca, Cusco, Machu Picchu, the Colca Canyon,
2005 - India, Delhi, Agra, Kashmir, Manali, Tibet - Ladakh. Lech-Nubra Valley, Nepal - Katmandhu, Anapurna, Royal NP Chitwen,
2006 - Etiopia: Adis Ababa - Shala NP - Bahar Dar - Tana Lake - Gonder - Semien Mountains - Bwahit (4430 m) - Aksum - Lalibela - Adis Ababa,
2007 - Jordania & izrael - Press study (Amman - Nebo - Petra - Jerash - Dead Sea - Bethlehem - Jerusalem - Nazareth - Lake Tiberias),
2007 - South Africa: Dubaj - Republic of South Africa - Kruger NP - Pretoria - Drakensberg - Cape Town - Namibia - Botswana (Okawango) - Zambia - Zimbabwe (Victoria Falls NP),
2008 - Alaska & west USA (NP: Monument Valley, Mesa Verde, Kings Kanyon & Sequoia, Canyon Land, Yosemite, Napa Valley),
2009 - New Zealand (Auckland, Rotorua, Taupo, Wellington, Fox Glacier, Milford Fiord, Quinstone, Christchurch) & Australia (Sydney, Blue Mountains, Uluru, Cairns - Great Barrier Reef),
2009 - The Eastern cruise over the Caribbean Sea on the "Princess Ruby" (Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Cozumel - Tulum in Mexico, Bahama Islands), Florida (Key West and Evergaldess NP),
2010 - Burma, Bhutan, Bangladesh, India (Calcutta),
2010 - Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore.
2010/2011 - Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) – cruise on the "Princess Star" over Falkland Islands, Arctowski Polar Station – Shetland Islands – Antarctica – Ushuaia, Punta Arenas – Puerto – Madryn – Montevideo – Buenos Aires; ramble to Iguazu and Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) – return to Buenos Aires,
2011 – China, Tibet, Hongkong, Makau and cruise over Jangcy River,
2011 - The cruise over the Mediterranean Sea on the "Princess Pacific" - Aplication „Holly Land”: Pireus – Patmos – Kusadasi – Hajfa – Asdod – Port Said – Alexandria – Dubrovnik – Ravenna – Venice,
2011/2012 - „Paradise Islands” – Sri Lanka and Maldives.
2012 – The cruise over the Mediterranean Sea on the "Princess Crone": Rome – Livorno (Pisa) – Naples – Vesovius – Santorini – Pireus – Mykonos – Olimpia – Corfu – Split – Venice,
2013 – The cruise over the Mediterranean Sea on the "Royal Princes" (Venice – Athens – Mykonos – Kusadasi – Istanbul – Civitavechcia/Rome – Livorno/Florence – Toulon – Barcelona),
2014 – Senegal - Gambia (Kaolack - Touba - Saint Louis - Djoudj National Park – Dakar Gore Island – Lac Rose - Bandia Reserve – Du Saloume National Park – Barra – Banjul (Gambia) – Bakau – Fort James – Kunta Kinta Island),
2014 – Cyprus (Pafos, Trodoos Mountains).
Mountaineering
Sajama (volcano, Bolivia, February 2004), 6540 m (achievied in the rain),
Kilimanjaro (Kenya, February 2000) 5895 m,
Elbrus (Caucasus, July 1993) 5642 m,
Mount Whitney (Sierra Nevada, USA) 4418 (ascent and descent in one day), August 2001.
List of Publications (more important)
Author of scientific works and popular scientific publications (over 30 books of textbook or scientific character, 130 scientific papers, 10 Tourist Guides, 36 unpublished papers, 21 publications of informative character, reviews and editorial articles). List of all Publications
Monography
Higher Education of Tourism staff for the Industry in Poland against the background of world trends. Monography, AWF Publishers no. 56, Kraków 1993.
Handbooks
Tourist regions. Theoretical basis. Case Studies, Proksenia, Cracow 2014.
Tourist attractions. The phenomenon, typology, test methods, Proksenia, Cracow 2011.
Rudiments of tourism geography, Proksenia Publishing House, Cracow 2010.
Maintanance of tourism movement. Theory and practice, Proksenia Publishing House, Cracow 2012.
Poland. The Geography of Tourist Attractions, Proksenia Publishing House, Cracow 2010.
Compendium for tourist guides, Proksenia Publishing House, Cracow 2011.
An outline of Tourism geography of the World, Proksenia Cracow 2010.
Europe. Tourism geography, Proksenia Publishing House, Cracow 2008.
Promotion and Information in Tourism, Proksenia Publishing House, Cracow 2010.
Knowledge of the country. Theory and methodology, Proksenia Publishing House, Cracow 2010.
Knowledge of the country - methodology, AWF Publishers nr 37, Cracow 1997.
Geography of tourist attractions in Poland, Proksenia Publishing House, Cracow 1998.
Tourism geography of Europe in outline, Proksenia Publishing House, Cracow 1998.
Tourist services, Hotel School in Cracow, Cracow 2001.
Tourism. Tests and questions for tourist guide candidates, Proksenia Publishing House, Kraków 2011.
Universal Encyclopedy, Publishing House Kluszczyński, Cracow 2001.
Handy Encyclopedy, Publishing House Kluszczyński, Cracow 2001.
Encyclopedy. Tourism geography of the World, Publishing House Kluszczyński 2001.
Wonders of the world, Publishing House Kluszczyński, Cracow 2001.
Natural wonders of the world, Publishing House Kluszczyński, Cracow 2001.
Geographical dictionary of Poland, PWN Publishers, Warsaw 2000.
Geography of tourist values in Poland, AWF Publishers, Cracow 2009.
Methodology of mountain trip and event organization, "Kraj" PTTK Publishers, Warsaw 1990.
Selected elements of psychosocial and organizational knowledge for tour leaders, AWF Publishers, Cracow 1981.
Information, advertising and promotion in tourism, AWF Publishers, Cracow 1983.
Published Articles and Papers
Tourism in Magura National Park. In: Tourism in National Parks, Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ojców National Park, Ojców 2002, pp. 281-292.
Tourism in the National Park in the USA, [in:] Tourism in National Parks, Institute of Nature Conservation of the Polish Academy of Sciences, Ojców National Park, Ojców 2002, pp. 468-484.
Tourist attractions of the Tatra Mountains - the methods of research and its interpretation, "Folia Turistica", AWF Publishers, Cracow 2002.
Scientific and teaching activity of tourism at the Academy of Physical Education in Cracow 1986-2000, Zeszyt Naukowy No. 81, AWF Publishers, Cracow 2001.
Tourism in the National Park, Ekoprofit, Katowice, August 2001.
Tourism in Magura National Park, "Na Szlaku" magazine of PTTK No. 4, (154), 2002.
The Education of tourism personnel in Poland and correlation with the tourism potential of the voivodship, Zeszyty Naukowe Wyższej Szkoły Ekonomicznej, No. 2 (20), Warsaw 2000.
The analysis of the employment and qualifications of tourism personnel in Kraków, Folia Turistica No. 10, Cracow 2001.
Tourism attractions as a part of the quality of tourist product, [in:] Rozwój jakości usług w turystyce, Centrum Edukacji Kadr Turystycznych w Krakowie, Cracow 1997.
Quality in tourism staff education, [in:] Zeszyt Naukowy No 78, AWF Publishers, Cracow.
Education for the Tourism Industry in the Małopolska Region, Folia Turistica No. 8, 1998.
Assessment of the acesssibility of Cracow Sights and Hotels, Folia Turistica No. 5, 1994.
Higher education of tourism in Western European Countries - models, modifications and trends, Instytut Turystyki, Warsaw 1993.
Personnel problems of tourism in Poland, Problems of Tourism No. 1 (55), Instytut Turystyki, Warsaw 1992.
The tourism market of the United States of America, Problems of Tourism No. 4, 1992.
The graduate's opinion about the curricula of tourism in the Academy of Physical Education and the Academy of Economics, Folia Turistica No.2, pp. 89-104, Cracow.
The reformation of tourism studies at The Academy of Physical Education in Cracow, Folia Turistica No. 4, pp. 117-132, AWF Publishers, Cracow 1993.
Analysis of personnel qualifications in new travel agencies, Problems of Tourism No. 1/94, 1994.
Tourism staff education as a factor of European integration - 1994 [in:] "Tourism and Recreation as a Factor of European Integration", Poznań 1995.
Development strategy of Krynica with the aid of tourism, (co-author M. Paszucha), Problems of Tourism No. 4, 1994.
International Tourist Guides Careers, Rynek turystyczny, August 1998.
International Tourist Guides Careers, Folia Turistica No 9, AWF Publishers, Cracow 2000.
Motives, preferences, and ambitions of tourists, Zeszyty Naukowe No. 18, pp. 102-128, AWF Publishers, Cracow.
Recreation values of mountain regions as seen by tourists, Rocznik Naukowy XVI, AWF Publishers, Cracow 1979.
Transformation of tourist functions of Polish Spisz, Zeszyty Naukowe No. 18, pp. 221-239, AWF Publishers, Cracow.
Forms of activity in residential tourism, Zeszyty Naukowe No. 16, pp. 149-156, AWF Publishers, Cracow.
Organization of tourism in the region of Spisz with reference to the value of historic country museums, Zeszyty Naukowe No. 20, pp. 157-169, AWF Publishers, Cracow 1980.
Method of assessment of tourist sights for creating tourism in the mountains, [in:] Assessment of the value of the geographical environment for different forms of recreation, Monograph No. 116, pp. 365-376, AWF Publishers, Poznań 1977.
Comparison of different types of regional division in Poland, Monograph No. 201, pp. 185-201, AWF Publishers, Poznań 1982.
The role of professional staff in increasing the quality of tourism, Zeszyty Naukowe No. 27, pp. 35-39, AWF Publishers, Cracow 1981.
Educating and developing tourism personnel in Poland, Paper for VII World Congress of Tourism Education, pp. 1-22, Toronto 1986.
Le programme de l`education des cadres pour le tourisme, TURYZM No. 7, Łódź 1990.
A comparison of tourism graduates from the Academy Of Physical Education with those of other tourism faculties, [in:] The model of training staff for the tourism industry, AWF - TNOIK, Cracow 1989.
Contemporary forms of research in tourism, [co-author T. Jarowiecka] "The Earth" 1990.
The reformation of tourism studies in the Academy of Physical Education in Cracow in consideration of world trends, Problems of Tourism, No. 2, 1992.
Contact Details
On the University
Institute of Tourism Geographie AWF Cracow,
Al. Jana Pawła II, 31-571 Cracow pavilon IV, room 110
Tel.: +48 12 683 12 33
e-mail: zygmunt.kruczek@awf.krakow.pl
"Proksenia" Publishing Company
ul. Sarego 23/2, 31-047 Cracow
Tel./fax: +48 12 421 63 80 or +48 12 421 56 16
e-mail: proksenia@proksenia.pl
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