Water tourism, unlike a number of o

Water tourism, unlike a number of other kinds of active tourism, is
accessible to people of all age groups as well as to the disabled. At the same
time, it is connected with other kinds of tourism, such as:
· urban tourism, which makes it possible to go sightseeing from canals and
river sides,
· nature tourism, which comprises a number of functions including
educational, ecological or cognitive functions, it concerns mainly areas of
the Nature 2000 network,
· historical tourism connected with learning about historical places, including
a number of strongholds and castles as well as historical hydro-technical
facilities,
· cultural tourism, including all kinds of reconstructions of historical and
mythical events, fairs and folklore [4].
Because of the thickness of the hydrographical network water tourism can
be developed in the whole country. It is estimated that in Poland there are:
· about 10 thousand lakes (which gives Poland second place in Europe in this
matter just after Finland), among them 560 reservoirs of over 100 ha, from
among them 320 dammed up lakes and 27 multi-purpose reservoirs,
· 23 thousand kilometres of rivers and 13 thousand mountain streams,
· 10 thousand kilometres of rivers, lakes and canals which can be used for
canoeing – this number is increasing, because every year new routes are set;
15 thousand kilometres of routes are already accessible for canoeing,
· 756 kilometres of waterways, 3700 kilometres of navigable rivers [2].
As far as water tourism is concerned, because of special requirements and
equipment necessary, the most common kinds in Poland are:
· sailing, including sailing and motor yachts,
· canoeing,
· windsurfing.