The Balkan Peninsula has been attracting tourists for decades. After the end of the conflicts that accompanied the breakup of Yugoslavia, the region stabilized and opened up to various forms of tourism. While the boom in mass tourism in these places has long been known, less attention has been paid to alternative forms of tourism. One of them is dark tourism, associated with visits to scenes of death, tragedies, cemeteries and battlefields. The thesis mentions various theories and typologies of dark tourism, its brief history and motivations for visiting. The second part of the thesis focuses on areas of the Balkans where promising dark tourism venues are located, but not all tourism providers have equally taken advantage of the potential. The following venues stand out in the analysis: Sarajevo with war tourism, Transylvania with the so-called "Dracula tourism" and some tourist spots in Belgrade. Furthermore, tourists are also attracted by the legacy of communism. The latter often meant suffering and repression, so such attractions can be defined as dark tourism. The thesis analyses relevant areas in Romania, Bulgaria and Albania. The third, empirical part deals with the opinions of guides who lead tours in the Balkan countries on dark tourism and related destinations. Short interviews were conducted with the guides. Their diverse opinions further contributed to the understanding of the phenomenon of dark tourism.
|
