Page 25 - Dark Shades of Istria
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k Tourism Theory and Discourse 2
In the context of the broader social change(s), people of the post-industri-
al era, as defined by sociologists Touraine (1971) or Bell (1976),¹ changed
their travel needs and practices as well. As noted by some scholars, e.g.
Wong and Cheung (1999), Robinson and Novelli (2005), Trauer (2006),
and Šuligoj (2018, p. 19), modern tourists seek tailored tourist experiences
with immaterial qualities, inner fulfilment, emotions and satisfaction as
a direct response to the depersonalised and rational post-modern urban
life. Consumers/tourists can, consequently, encounter a number of (the-
matic) tourist products in the market as a reaction to tourist demand or
as products which, in fact, create demand – see Douglas et al. (2001),
Kruja and Gjyrezi (2011), Štetić et al. (2013), and Trauer (2006). Accord-
ing to McKercher (2016), thematic tourist products can be grouped in
the following product families: pleasure, personal quest, human endeav-
our, nature, and business. Tourist products, as well as the product fami-
lies to which they belong, are thus completely in line with the thematic
tourism theory (Douglas et al., 2001; Rabotić, 2014), where many other
terms are used, i.e. ‘niche tourism’ (Robinson & Novelli, 2005), ‘selective
forms of tourism’ (Štetić et al., 2013) or ‘special interest tourism’ (Douglas
et al., 2001).² However, Trauer (2006, p. 185) sees it as part of the interdis-
ciplinary system of the 21st century, which encompasses all elements of
supply and demand in the broadest sense, including ‘political, econom-
ical, ecological, technological, and socio-economical and socio-cultural
concerns, from the local to the global level.³ This approach in tourism is
the complete opposite of mass tourism (Douglas et al., 2001, p. 2; Hall &
Weiler, 1992), which has greatly accelerated in the second half of the 20th
century, and is still a very visible model of tourism development today,
e.g. in the Mediterranean.
Dark tourism, which will be further elaborated below, is only one spe-
cial type of tourism (or niche tourism), but one of the most controversial
¹ For the economic point of view of the change(s), see Kenessey (1987), while the geo-
graphic aspect was highlighted by Kellerman (1985) and Selstad (1990).
² However, the term ‘special interest tourism’ was, as the predecessor of ‘niche tourism,’
already conceptualised during the 1980s (Hall and Weiler, 1992).
³ Some general sociological explanations can be found in Šuran (2016).
25
In the context of the broader social change(s), people of the post-industri-
al era, as defined by sociologists Touraine (1971) or Bell (1976),¹ changed
their travel needs and practices as well. As noted by some scholars, e.g.
Wong and Cheung (1999), Robinson and Novelli (2005), Trauer (2006),
and Šuligoj (2018, p. 19), modern tourists seek tailored tourist experiences
with immaterial qualities, inner fulfilment, emotions and satisfaction as
a direct response to the depersonalised and rational post-modern urban
life. Consumers/tourists can, consequently, encounter a number of (the-
matic) tourist products in the market as a reaction to tourist demand or
as products which, in fact, create demand – see Douglas et al. (2001),
Kruja and Gjyrezi (2011), Štetić et al. (2013), and Trauer (2006). Accord-
ing to McKercher (2016), thematic tourist products can be grouped in
the following product families: pleasure, personal quest, human endeav-
our, nature, and business. Tourist products, as well as the product fami-
lies to which they belong, are thus completely in line with the thematic
tourism theory (Douglas et al., 2001; Rabotić, 2014), where many other
terms are used, i.e. ‘niche tourism’ (Robinson & Novelli, 2005), ‘selective
forms of tourism’ (Štetić et al., 2013) or ‘special interest tourism’ (Douglas
et al., 2001).² However, Trauer (2006, p. 185) sees it as part of the interdis-
ciplinary system of the 21st century, which encompasses all elements of
supply and demand in the broadest sense, including ‘political, econom-
ical, ecological, technological, and socio-economical and socio-cultural
concerns, from the local to the global level.³ This approach in tourism is
the complete opposite of mass tourism (Douglas et al., 2001, p. 2; Hall &
Weiler, 1992), which has greatly accelerated in the second half of the 20th
century, and is still a very visible model of tourism development today,
e.g. in the Mediterranean.
Dark tourism, which will be further elaborated below, is only one spe-
cial type of tourism (or niche tourism), but one of the most controversial
¹ For the economic point of view of the change(s), see Kenessey (1987), while the geo-
graphic aspect was highlighted by Kellerman (1985) and Selstad (1990).
² However, the term ‘special interest tourism’ was, as the predecessor of ‘niche tourism,’
already conceptualised during the 1980s (Hall and Weiler, 1992).
³ Some general sociological explanations can be found in Šuran (2016).
25
