Zakopane - an amazing number of small, often family run companies

The majority of locals in Zakopane work is the tourism catering industry. There is no heavy industry with big factories and plants in the area. To tell the truth, there is even no proper supermarket within 20 km off Zakopane. On the contrary, there is an amazing number of small, often family run companies and businesses. The inhabitants of Zakopane manage their own businesses - they own hotels, boarding houses, chalets for rent, they manage apartments, run shops, they own ski lifts, restaurants, they teach how to ski, they guide people into the mountains, they drive their customers in taxis, mini buses, sleighs and carriges. This small town of 28 thousand inhabitants can boast of four thousand businesses - the majority of them being small, one-person companies.