Summary:

The investigations were undertaken because of an important role which necessary elements of technical infrastructure play in rural areas, conditioning a development of each economic activity, including providing services for tourists. The article presents the selected elements of municipal infrastructure in rural communes (house cross connections to sewer and water supply systems).The investigations covered rural communes of the malopolskie province, which were analyzed with respect to a tourist function which they may fulfill, estimated using Schneider and Defert indicators. An attempt was made to establish a relationship between the state of selected elements of technical infrastructure and the level of tourist traffic. The relationship may determine a given region, village attractiveness or unattractiveness therefore decide about the chances or barriers to its further development. The data used in the paper come from The Main Statistical Office Regional Data Bank. A survey of water supply systems showed that not all communes had such cross connections. The highest number of cross connections per 100 houses were registered in the communes of Biały Dunajec, Poronin and Kościelisko. On the other hand the communes of Lubień, Ochotnica Dolna, Rzepiennik Stryżewski, Tokarnia and Trzciana did not have a single cross connection to water supply system. Considering the number of cross connections to sewer systems per 100 of houses, the highest results were obtained for the communes of Poronin, Biały Dunajec and Lipnica Wielka. The communes where no sewer systems were registered are Biskupice, Bolesław (dąbrowki district), Borzęcin, Bystra-Sidzina, Drwina, Gołcza, Gręboszów, Grybów, Iwkowa, Jordanów, Kocmyrzów-Luborzyca, Korzenna, Kozłów, Łabowa, Łużna, Mędrzechów, Racławice, Rzepiennik Strzyżewski, Słaboszów, Stryszów and Wieprz. The above analysis was based on Pearson linear correlation coefficient, which is a measure of the strength of straight-line relationship between two measurables assuming value within the -1≤ r_xy ≤ +1 range . The value of correlation coefficient concerning house cross connections to water supply system and Schneider indicator was 0.002, whereas for cross connections to sewer systems 0.089.For Defert indicator the correlation values were respectively 0.136 and 0.157. Considering the obtained results of analysis it should be said that there is no positive interrelation between the level of technical infrastructure elements in rural communes and fulfilling tourist function. Therefore it may be stated that despite a high level of indicators of infrastructure in the investigated communes no apparent effect of fulfilling tourist function has been perceived.