Page 44 - Dark Shades of Istria
P. 44
Dark Tourism Theory and Discourse
to include the sites of dramatic historic events that bear extra meaning.’
However, scholars like Hyde and Harman (2011), Winter (2011) or Poria et
al. (2003) have some difficulty differentiating among religious and secular
pilgrims,²¹ dark tourists, heritage tourists or some other types of tourist
seeking the mythical and magical; according to Korstanje and George
(2015), the interests of pilgrims and dark-seekers are substantially differ-
ent, which means that these two phenomena cannot be linked.²² This also
means that the term/phenomenon of ‘secular pilgrimage’ is not generally
useful in examining dark tourism and, however, is mostly linked with
former battlefields and sites associated with slavery (Light, 2017, p. 286).
2.5 Chapter Conclusion
As already mentioned in this study, war-related tourism is, despite a very
conflicting past, an unresearched topic in South-Eastern Europe – espe-
cially in the former Yugoslav area (Šuligoj, 2017b, p. 447). However, in
their collection of academic papers, Gosar et al. (2015) as well as Kra-
vanja (2018), illustrated various aspects of the development of battlefield
tourism in the Soča/Isonzo valley in Slovenia, while Šuligoj (2017a) iden-
tifies some advantages and disadvantages of dark tourism sites in Slove-
nia; in additional papers (2015d, 2016, 2017b), he presented the Croatian
homeland war, focusing on the perspective of young residents of Croa-
tia. In addition, Rivera (2008) focused on the Croatian way of present-
ing the state to the international public via tourism after the war in the
1990s; Goulding and Domic (2009) consider the consequences of rep-
resenting a mono-cultural heritage in a multi-ethnic society in Croatia;
Wise (2011), and Wise and Mulec (2014) investigate how newspaper arti-
cles and official tourism websites sources construct the (re)created mean-
ings and images of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia; and Naef and
Ploner (2016) and Naef (2013) presented contested memories and a dis-
sonant heritage in tourism in the post-war former Yugoslav area. Kesar
and Tomas (2014) analysed three representative examples of dark tourism
sites (Vukovar, Jasenovac and Goli otok) and found that, in terms of the
number of visitors, revenue and impacts on society, they are far behind
²¹ The terms religious and secular pilgrimage are well described by Korstanje and George
(2015), Digance (2006), Poria et al. (2003) or Lupfer et al. (1992). In-depth description of
these terms goes beyond the scope of this study.
²² Črpić and Jukić (1998) and Zrinšćak et al. (2000, pp. 239–241) investigated religious al-
ternatives in relation to Christianity; however, the above-mentioned practices are not
included in their analysis.
44
to include the sites of dramatic historic events that bear extra meaning.’
However, scholars like Hyde and Harman (2011), Winter (2011) or Poria et
al. (2003) have some difficulty differentiating among religious and secular
pilgrims,²¹ dark tourists, heritage tourists or some other types of tourist
seeking the mythical and magical; according to Korstanje and George
(2015), the interests of pilgrims and dark-seekers are substantially differ-
ent, which means that these two phenomena cannot be linked.²² This also
means that the term/phenomenon of ‘secular pilgrimage’ is not generally
useful in examining dark tourism and, however, is mostly linked with
former battlefields and sites associated with slavery (Light, 2017, p. 286).
2.5 Chapter Conclusion
As already mentioned in this study, war-related tourism is, despite a very
conflicting past, an unresearched topic in South-Eastern Europe – espe-
cially in the former Yugoslav area (Šuligoj, 2017b, p. 447). However, in
their collection of academic papers, Gosar et al. (2015) as well as Kra-
vanja (2018), illustrated various aspects of the development of battlefield
tourism in the Soča/Isonzo valley in Slovenia, while Šuligoj (2017a) iden-
tifies some advantages and disadvantages of dark tourism sites in Slove-
nia; in additional papers (2015d, 2016, 2017b), he presented the Croatian
homeland war, focusing on the perspective of young residents of Croa-
tia. In addition, Rivera (2008) focused on the Croatian way of present-
ing the state to the international public via tourism after the war in the
1990s; Goulding and Domic (2009) consider the consequences of rep-
resenting a mono-cultural heritage in a multi-ethnic society in Croatia;
Wise (2011), and Wise and Mulec (2014) investigate how newspaper arti-
cles and official tourism websites sources construct the (re)created mean-
ings and images of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia; and Naef and
Ploner (2016) and Naef (2013) presented contested memories and a dis-
sonant heritage in tourism in the post-war former Yugoslav area. Kesar
and Tomas (2014) analysed three representative examples of dark tourism
sites (Vukovar, Jasenovac and Goli otok) and found that, in terms of the
number of visitors, revenue and impacts on society, they are far behind
²¹ The terms religious and secular pilgrimage are well described by Korstanje and George
(2015), Digance (2006), Poria et al. (2003) or Lupfer et al. (1992). In-depth description of
these terms goes beyond the scope of this study.
²² Črpić and Jukić (1998) and Zrinšćak et al. (2000, pp. 239–241) investigated religious al-
ternatives in relation to Christianity; however, the above-mentioned practices are not
included in their analysis.
44
