Abstract
Motives: Tourist potential is determined by the presence of tourism-related assets, the level of tourismoriented development and the transport accessibility of an area. The dominant role in lake zones is played by their natural assets, mainly in rural areas with potential for the development of ecotourism, nature tourism and the implementation of sustainable tourism. A position relative to an urban centre, especially a provincial city, is the decisive factor for development opportunities in rural communes.
Aim: The aim of the study was to analyse and compare the tourist attractiveness of rural communes in the functional urban area of Olsztyn – a provincial city.
Results: The study was conducted by means of multidimensional comparative analysis with synthetic measures. The commune of Stawiguda, rich in natural and cultural assets and with good transport accessibility, proved to be the area with the highest tourist attractiveness (0.662). On the other end of the spectrum, the commune of Dywity achieved the lowest score (0.475) despite the best utilisation of its position neighbouring an urban centre.