Leisure time has become a product, which is attractive both for media and tourism. For media, money is the argument in auction while for tourism it is mainly mental and physical health of a man. Leisure time is characterised by its functions: – entertainment, – self-education, – relaxation. If all these factors are accomplished in harmony, one can speak of its proper use. Within a week’s time budget of students of Higher School of Tourism and Hospitality in Łódź (author’s own research) leisure time occupies 26%, 22% of which are taken by media (press, radio, TV) and 12% by tourism. Media attract by: – ‘stealing’ time for other activities, – methods of transmission, – information conveyed. For he most expansive and the most attractive of media i.e. TV the students spend, on average, 3 hours 45 minutes a day. The way of transmission brings about physical and mental passiveness. Messages conveyed, as it results from research done by M. Braun-Gałkowska (1995), in 49% do not convey any keynote, and in 44% are characterized by a primitive language. Tourism satisfies demands for: cognition, personal contacts, freedom, new experience and creativity. Despite ‘sins’, among which consumption plays the main role, tourism broadens the sphere of human emotions mainly due to direct cognition. Two points of view are rivals in comparing a role, which are played by media, and tourism in realization the function of leisure time. The first one, medial, with the main stress put on human aspect, and the second one, tourist, treating man as a subject. Medial rest is passive while tourism is active. Entertainment offered by media appeals to primitive patterns of authorities, tourism assumes openness and friendliness. As to self-education, media are not very demanding. A tourist himself accepts demands, which are unlimited, except for his abilities. Easiness of accepting media influence and their global availability result in double amount of time spent on media than on tourism. On the basis of comparing results of research, one may conclude that media (TV) take more and more time. Tourism, in spite of many benefits, looses its advocates. In order to understand these benefits we should raise in tourism. Both organizers of tourism but also its participants should perform these educational activities.