Paid rescue operations like Slovakia? Discussion on the financing of TOPR and GOPR

The change in the rules for financing mountain rescue services proposed by the Ministry of Climate may reduce the budgets of national parks and increase costs for tourists, says the Tatra National Park. TOPR, on the other hand, is in favor of clarifying the regulations and a higher surcharge for entry tickets to mountain parks.

On March 24, the Ministry of Climate and Environment submitted a draft amendment to the Nature Protection Act and certain other acts for public consultation. It provides for, among others: changing the rules for transferring funds by mountain national parks to the Mountain Volunteer Rescue Service (GOPR) and the Tatra Volunteer Search and Rescue Service (TOPR). Currently, national parks located in mountainous areas transfer 15% to entities authorized to perform mountain rescue. revenues from admission tickets to parks. In the new model, the money would not come from park revenues, but from a separate part of the ticket price. According to the ministry, this is to strengthen the rescue system and adapt it to the growing tourist traffic.

The director of the Tatra National Park, Szymon Ziobrowski, commented on the proposal in an interview with PAP, pointing to possible consequences both for visitors and the budgets of the parks themselves. In his opinion, if the obligation to pay 15% subsidies will also be extended to other sources of park revenue, e.g. parking lots or educational activities, this will mean a real reduction in the budgets of national parks. – In such a situation, the missing funds will have to be supplemented, which in practice will translate into an increase in fees for tourists – he pointed out.

Ziobrowski believes that the change “will not be positively received” by tourists. – The project may lead to an increase in fees. It may happen that one person will pay this fee multiple times, e.g. for an entrance ticket, parking lot or other services, he noted, adding that the park is against such a solution.

In his opinion, the current mechanism is simple and clear. – 15 percent the entry fee to the Tatra National Park goes to TOPR, and the fee remains directly related to the safety of tourists – he pointed out. He added that the proposed solutions may weaken this relationship because they also include fees not directly related to rescue operations.

Referring to the current rescue financing system, Ziobrowski emphasized that it is based on the cooperation of the state and national parks, and in practice also tourists. He compared it to an insurance mechanism. – The key is that there is a direct connection between a tourist's entry into the park and a potential accident, analogous to purchasing insurance, he pointed out.

The head of TOPR, Jan Krzysztof, referring to the project, drew attention to the growing costs of rescue activities. He proposed increasing the subsidy to at least 20%. In his opinion, this would make it possible to better secure financing for rescue operations.

He added that if the legislator sticks to the proposed structure, it would be necessary to clarify the provisions to avoid interpretation doubts. In TOPR's opinion, clear provisions are needed specifying the basis for calculating the surcharge, e.g. whether it is based on the net or gross amount, and guaranteeing that these funds will not be reduced by the costs of handling ticket sales or charged with taxes.

– Otherwise, there is a risk that a change in an unfavorable interpretation will lead to a reduction in influence on mountain rescue – he noted.

The proposed changes are supported by the director of the Pieniny National Park (PPN), Michał Sokołowski. In his opinion, the new solution may be more beneficial for national parks than the current system. – Adding 15 percent rescue fees directly added to the ticket price is a more advantageous solution because it does not reduce the revenues of national parks, he said.

He added that parks' funds should be primarily allocated to the implementation of their statutory tasks. He also pointed out that mountain rescue services are financed from the funds of the Ministry of Interior and Administration, therefore – in his opinion – the additional burden on parks is unjustified.

The director of PPN believes that it is worth considering solutions operating in other countries. For example, in Slovakia and the Alpine countries, fees are charged for rescue operations, and travel insurance is common. In his opinion, this could limit unjustified calls for services and protect the finances of national parks against financing actions outside their area.

The project of the Ministry of Climate also tightens the rules for collecting fees in national parks. If a tourist does not pay the entrance fee or does not have a document entitling him to discounts, he will have to pay an additional fee, which constitutes the revenue of the national park, in addition to the ticket price. The ministry wants its amount to be determined as a multiple of the admission fee, which may mean a multiple increase in the amount due compared to the ticket price. If the tourist pays this fee within 7 days of receiving the request, it will be possible to apply a discount.

Obligation to transfer 15 percent influence on rescue also applies to other mountain national parks, including the Karkonosze, Table Mountains, Babiogórski, Gorczański, Bieszczady and Magurski. (PAP)

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