EDUCATIONAL TOURISM IN THE ACTIVITIES OF SOCIAL WELFARE CENTRES IN POLAND (OŚRODKI POMOCY SPOŁECZNEJ – OPS) AS AN OFFER FOR VARIOUS GROUPS OF THE EXCLUDED – LEGAL AND ORGANISATIONAL ASPECT
Authors: Olszewski-Strzyżowski Dariusz , Borek Dominik 
Published: July 2024

Purpose. The aim of this article is to analyse the activities carried out by selected Social Welfare Centres (Ośrodki Pomocy Społecznej – OPS)1 in Poland, in terms of programmes and educational tourism activities offered to different groups of the excluded. The phenomenon of exclusion is increasingly permeating various aspects of our lives. Today, we already speak of “rejection”, “exclusion from life”, “marginalisation”, “exclusion from life”, “alienation from life”, “outcasting from society”, “exclusion”, etc. The term is used to describe a situation in which individuals or, increasingly, entire social groups are unable to normally participate in social life, in civic, political, economic, cultural or professional activities; to have access to services, offers, consumption, to pursue their interests, hobbies, desires and thus, to fulfil their basic social roles and needs. Yet, these groups have the right to be treated like other citizens, without any restrictions. In addition to the above-mentioned aspects of life, there are also situations of inaccessibility by certain communities to, for example, freely undertake physical, sporting, recreational or tourist activities. The task of entities and organisations responsible for pro-social policy in our country (not only the government level, but especially the local level – i.e. Social Welfare Centres) is to enable hitherto excluded and marginalised persons to fully participate in social life, also in terms of universal and unhindered access to physical activities in the broad sense. According to the United Nations, for many marginalised groups, tourism is a tool for integration and social empowerment [CSONET UN 2023].Method. The activities of 341 centres operating in Poland (a total of 2,426 centres were approached and responses were received from 341) and the responses received from staff responsible for educational tourism programmes and projects, and from participants engaging in the activities, were analysed. The authors treat the notion of educational tourism within the framework of activities undertaken by the OPS in relation to excluded groups, in two ways, namely as: a) social educational activities, excluding “into tourism” (enabling universal access for the excluded to participate in tourist activities, to tourist services and to tourist destinations, etc.) and b) social educational activities (including institutional), excluding “through tourism” (enabling universal access for the excluded to undertake work in tourism). Accordingly, analysis of the activities of the above-mentioned centres has been conducted taking this division into account.Findings. The results of the research showed that the offer of the selected centres in the field of this type of tourism proposed for various excluded groups is diverse, and successfully contributes to their “inclusion” in the generally accessible mainstream of social life.Research and conclusions limitations. It would be necessary to carry out more research on the centres in order to learn more about the full participation of their wards in educational tourism activities.Practical implications. Achieving greater mutual understanding will help increase sustainability for both sectors.Originality. The authors is not aware of any similar endeavour or publications.Type of paper. A case study. This article was supported under project NP-KSV-ET-01-2023-12/ ST-International cooperation in the field of development, management and law of tourism and sports between the Republic of Poland and the Slovak Republic. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and should not be taken as reflecting the position of any body, entity or institution. The article presents the legal situation as of 10 January 2024.