Slovaka

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Geography and Tourism : Slovakia

Introduction

The Slovak Republic is positioned in Central Europe and is land-locked to the north by the Czech Republic and Poland , to the east by the Ukraine , to the south by Hungary and to the west by Austria (As indicated by the map below . The approximately 48 ,800 sq km with an additional 45 sq km of inland water (sacr 1 . The terrain of Slovakia consists of many mountainous areas particularly in the centre and north of the country

. This is where the High Tatra range is located and is home to various levels of elevation The highest point in Slovakia is Gerlachovsky Stit , which stands at a height of 2655m (sacr 1 . The areas of low-lying land in the west and south of the country are extremely fertile and are served by many rivers including the Hron and Vah . The Danube River runs parallel to the south-western b with Hungary and is an imperative transit route between Vienna and Budapest (sacr 1

Figure 1 : Europe

Physical Characteristics of Place

Climate

The climate of Slovakia is somewhat moderate with fresh summers and harsh , cold winters which bring with them a great deal of ice and snow The temperatures in the hills often drop below -30 ?C (climate zone 1 The coldest recorded temperature in Bratislava was -21 ?C (climate zone 1 . The table below demonstrates the climate of Bratislava , Slovakia 's capital and most populated city

Weather : Bratislava , SK

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec Avg . Temperature

31

36

42

51

60

66

69

69

59

51

40

32 Avg . Max Temperature

36

43

50

61

71

76

80

80

69

60

46

36 Avg . Min Temperature

26

29

34

41

50

55

59

59

51

43

35

27 Avg . Rain Days

8

7

11

9

9

9

10

7

9

8

10

7 Avg . Snow Days

6

4

4

1

0

0

0

0

0

0

2

4Figure 2 - Source : climate-zone .com

Vegetation

Initially , almost the complete territory of present day Slovakia was covered by forests . Open areas were exclusions persistent by extreme ecological circumstances . For example , sub-alpine brushes with dwarf pine lengthen in climatically unfavorable areas above the upper timberline and in higher elevations give way to alpine meadows (ecosystems .sk 1 . Today however , 41 of the Slovak territory is covered by forests (ecosystems .sk 1 . Regardless of a sophisticated forest management , a large segment of original forest communities has been conserved up to the present day . Most importantly , indigenous tree species have never been substituted by spruce on a scale equivalent with many other European countries (ecosystems .sk 1

Landforms

The rocky and uneven Ore Mountains overlook the central region of Slovakia , while the Carpathian Mountains wrap its northern bs with the Czech Republic and Poland (world atlas 1 . The tallest peaks are in the Tatra Mountains . The highest point is Gerlach Peak rising to 8 ,743 ft (2 ,665m . The Mountains incline into the abundant lowlands of the Danube River plain . Noteworthy rivers comprise of the Danube , Morava Hron , Hornad and Vah (world atlas 1

Human and Cultural Characteristics of Place

Language

West Slavic language , the main language of Slovakia , is closely related to HYPERLINK "http /www .britannica .com /eb /article-9028458 /Czech-language " \o "Czech-language " Czech , HYPERLINK "http /www .britannica .com /eb /article-9060625 /Polish-language " \o "Polish-language " Polish , and the HYPERLINK "http /www .britannica .com /eb /article-9068739 /Sorbian-languages " \o "Sorbian-languages " Sorbian languages of Eastern Germany . Slovak is written in the Roman (Latin ) alphabet (Britannica 56 . Although there are traces of the Slovak language in Latin documents of the 11th-15th century and in the Czech of the 14th-16th century , which are the earliest-known attempts to increase the use of it (Britannica 56

Food

There really isn 't a traditional "Slovak cuisine , which would be known all around the world , such as Chinese or Italian (Britannica 78 Nevertheless , there are meals that you would encounter more often in Slovakia than elsewhere in the world such as potatoes , wheat flour , cow and sheep cheese , cabbage , onions and garlic which are the bases of the traditional food in Slovakia (slovensko 1

Politics

During 2002 , in the country 's first elections since 1998 , the opposition party Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (MDS , led by the controversial and autocratic former Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar , won a sweeping triumph in the ballot for original regional governments (NYU Law 40 Races for a governorships were decided in two rounds of voting on December 1 and 15 (NYU Law 40

Architectural Styles

Grand castles and mansions , the witnesses to Slovakia 's past , contain numerous interesting museum displays and offer amusement all the year round (slovensko 1 . These various incorporated architectural styles adorn the Slovakian landscape

Rural Landscapes

High mountains , beautiful valleys , deep caves , rivers both calm and turbulent , crystal clear waterfalls unique fauna and flora take up most of the Slovakian rural landscape (sacr 1

Movement within Places

The main Public Transport System in Slovakia consists of buses trolleybuses - (which look like a bus , but takes electric power from overhead power lines ) and trams (slovensko 1 . There are no subways although it has been a subject of community discussions many years . The network is relatively crowded and most lines function between 5am and midnight . During the night , there are special night lines , but they are not very common (slovensko 1

Transport Regulations

If someone wants to travel by public transport , they must buy a ticket before the journey . The drivers do not sell the tickets and the ticket dispensers are missing on some stops , so they should be well advised to stock up with all necessary tickets beforehand (slovensko 1 . For example , if you expect to change busses before you get to your designated location , and then buy both tickets before you start your journey

Also , there are different tickets for rides of the various durations : 10 minutes , 30 minutes and 60 minutes (slovensko 1 . The first one is good if you travel only by one line without changing . The official time needed to get from one stop to another is always written on the diagrams at the stop

International Tourism and Slovakia

Character

Slovakia 's tourism industry has grown astonishingly since its independence . By the late 1990s the country was receiving more than 500 ,000 visitors each year (slovensko 1 . Slovakia 's historic towns and numerous mountain ski resorts are the more popular tourist destinations Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the character of Slovakia 's tourism is the fact that they lack the McDonalds style commercialism that is apparent throughout most of the rest of Europe (slovensko 1 This particular aspect attracts visitors from all around the world who are interested in something a little different

Economic Impacts

Slovakia practiced increased economic growth in the last two years of the review period (slovensko 1 . This spurred an increase in average disposable income of 11 in 2005 , driving household consumption and expenditure on leisure . Average purchasing power was still low at 51 of the EU average , according to Slovak Spectator , but higher in the more developed Bratislava region . The Slovak hotel industry is benefiting from the growing influx of overseas investment . Together with nearby Vienna , Bratislava is fast becoming a regional hub for passenger air services , with growing benefits for Slovakia 's tourism sector (slovensko 1

Following a number of feeble years , incoming numbers increased by 8 in 2005 as reported by the National Bank of Slovakia as a result of the general increase in international tourism . However , Slovak incoming trends are still heavily biased in favor of transit visitors who account for over 90 of all b crossings per year . Nevertheless , the surge led to a healthy increase in incoming receipts of 10 in current value terms , following several years of decline . While visitors from the Czech Republic and Poland accounted for a large part of the crossings , they also were the biggest group among those that stayed in paid accommodation in 2005 , followed by visitors from Germany , Italy UK , France and the Netherlands (slovensko 1

Costs for Visitors

Both incoming and outgoing travel received a strong boost from the growing availability of budget flights to all parts of Europe as well as Slovakia 's entry into the EU in 2004 which focused interest in Slovakia as a tourist and business destination (slovakia .org 1 . Outbound departures increased by 8 in 2005 , resulting in strong growth in outbound expenditure . While the majority of Slovaks were interested in lower cost packages to seaside resorts in the Mediterranean , demand for exotic destinations recorded another strong year , driven by the higher purchasing power of the burgeoning Slovak entrepreneurial class (slovakia .org 1

Accommodation

Although fewer new accommodation outlets were opened in 2005 , sales of accommodation facilities increased by 7 in 2005 (slovakia .org 1 Particularly dynamic performance was posted by hotels , chalets guesthouses and private accommodation outlets (slovakia .org 1 . The weakness of accommodation in the Slovak Republic is its high proportion of lower category accommodation facilities and its lack of 5 star hotels to boost the premium end of the market . However , on the positive side the number of chained outlets increased significantly over the last three years of the review period and the first Slovak 5 star hotel will be opened in 2006 (slovakia .org 1

Tourist Attractions

Although Slovakia 's tourism promotion abroad is still not sufficiently developed , its tourist attractions continued to attract foreign and domestic visitors . Revenues increased by 6 in 2005 against 5 in the previous year (slovakia .org 1 . The range and volume of sightseeing tours increased in line with the substantial growth in incoming visitors as tourists were attracted by Slovakia 's romantic castles and historic buildings /sites , in particular around Bratislava produced revenues of SKK473 million in 2005 (slovakia .org 1 . Excursions combining wine tasting in Slovak and neighboring Austrian villages proved increasingly popular with tourists coming on a city break to Bratislava . The most visited attractions included the national parks such as the Low and High Tatras which generated revenues of SKK52 million and the fast developing amusement parks and aqua parks garnered sales of SKK16 million in 2005 (slovakia .org 1

Tourism Potential

Slovakia has all the pre-requisites for successful and growing tourism however , it suffers from insufficient international recognition of its tourism resources and services , due to few promotion activities during the transition years following the country gaining its independence in 1991 (slovakia .org 1 . There is an urgent need for greater and more targeted promotion in Europe and elsewhere which is being addressed by the government and tourism organizations and supported by EU funding Together with the ongoing construction of top class hotels and tourist resorts , this should help to increase international demand for Slovakia as a tourist destination . Dynamic growth is also expected in outbound tourism which is expected to increase by more than 30 between 2005 and 2010 (slovakia .org 1

References

Constitutional Watch . Politics in Slovakia : East European Constitutional Review , New York University School of Law . Volume 11 Numbers 1 and 2 Winter /Spring 2002

"Slovak language " Encyclopaedia Britannica . 2007 . Encyclopaedia Britannica Online . 22 Apr . 2007

The Guide to the Slovak Republic Slovakia . Accessed April 2007Your Guide to Slovakia Bratislava . Accessed April 2007 Travel and Tourism in Slovakia Oct 2006 . Accessed April 2007Slovakia : Little Big Country Accessed April 2007 World Climate Zone CIA World Fact Book . Accessed April 2007 PAGE

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