Dark tourism in Serbia: Case study of the Kragujevački oktobar Memorial Park

Radovan Miletić; Danijela Pantović; Linda Veliverronena

doi:10.5937/menhottur2301127M

Authors

Radovan Miletić University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Hotel Management and Tourism in Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0382-7903
Danijela Pantović University of Kragujevac, Faculty of Hotel Management and Tourism in Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8605-8614
Linda Veliverronena Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Social, Economic and Humanities Research, Valmiera, Latvia https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1771-343X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5937/menhottur2301127M

Keywords:

memorial park, dark tourism, benefit-based approach, Kragujevački oktobar

Abstract

The study presented in the paper employs the benefit-based approach to analyse the potentials of dark tourism as a context which outlines cultural tourism within a broader framework of contemporary tourism development. The focus of the research is the Kragujevački oktobar Memorial Park, which is one of the most infamous dark tourism spots in Serbia – well known among its residents as well as the Balkan region. The research looks into the travellers’ reasons for visiting the sight, their on-site experiences and benefits gained. The results of the study highlight the identified motivation and reasons for visiting the Memorial Park, as well as provide a comprehensive overview of the ways the visitors are affected.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Anti?, A., Dragovi?, N., & Tomi?, N. (2021). Show cave websites in Serbia: Evaluation and potential improvements. Hotel and Tourism Management, 9(1), 11–25. https://doi.org/10.5937/menhottur2101011A

Ashworth, G. (1996). Holocaust tourism and Jewish culture: The lessons of Krakow-Kazimierz. Tourism and Cultural Change, 1–12.

Ashworth, G. J., & Isaac, R. K. (2015). Have we illuminated the dark? Shifting perspectives on ‘dark tourism. Tourism Recreation Research, 40(3), 316–325. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2015.1075726

Auschwitz-Birkenau. (2020). 2 million 320 thousand visitors at the Auschwitz Memorial in 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2023 from https://www.auschwitz.org/en/museum/news/2-million-320-thousand-visitors-at-the-auschwitz-memorial-in-2019,1400.html

Biran, A., & Hyde, K. F. (2013). New perspectives on dark tourism. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 7(3), 191–198. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-05-2013-0032

Biran, A., & Poria, Y. (2012). Re-conceptualising dark tourism. In R. Sharpley, & P. Stone (Eds.), The contemporary tourism experience: Concepts and consequences (pp. 62–79). London: Routledge.

Biran, A., Poria, Y., & Oren, G. (2011). Sought experiences at (dark) heritage sites. Annals of Tourism Research, 38(3), 820–841. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2010.12.001

Bowman, M. S., & Pezzullo, P. C. (2009). What’s so ‘dark’about ‘dark tourism’? Death, tours, and performance. Tourist Studies, 9(3), 187–202. https://doi.org/10.1080/14766820903026348

Buda, D. M. (2015). The death drive in tourism studies. Annals of Tourism Research, 50, 39–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2014.10.008

Charkina, T., Zaitseva, V., Pikulina, O., & Reukova, A. (2022). Modern development trends and new directions of the tourism industry. Agrosvit, 3, 49. https://doi.org/10.32702/2306-6792.2022.3.49

Dimitrovski, D., Milutinovi?, S., & ?uki?, ?. (2014) Dark tourism as an educational tool, the Kragujevac October memorial park. 1st International Conference Higher Education in Function of Sustainable Development of Tourism in Serbia and Western Balkans (pp. 191–199). Business and Technical College of Vocational Studies in Užice, Serbia.

Driver, B. L., Brown, P. J., Stankey, G., & Gregoire, T. G. (1987). The ROS planning system: Evolution, basic concepts and research needed. Leisure Sciences, 9(3), 201–212. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490408709512160

Driver, B. L., Tinsley, H. E. A., & Manfredo, M. J. (1991). The paragraphs about leisure and recreation experience preference scales: Results from two inventories designed to assess the breadth of the perceived psychological benefits of leisure. In B. L. Driver, P. J. Brown & G. L. Peterson (Eds.), Benefits of leisure (pp. 263–286). Pennsylvania: Venture Publishing.

Du, W., Littlejohn, D., & Lennon, J. (2013). Place identity or place identities: The memorial to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, China. In L. White & E. Frew (Eds.), Dark tourism and place identity: Managing and interpreting dark places (pp. 46–59). London: Routledge.

Foley, M., & Lennon, J. J. (1996). JFK and dark tourism: A fascination with assassination. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 2(4), 198–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/13527259608722175

Foley, M., & Lennon, J. J. (2000). Dark tourism. Continuum.

Gliši?, V. (1970). Teror i zlo?ini nacisti?ke Nema?ke u Srbiji 1941-1945 [Terror and crimes of Nazi Germany in Serbia 1941-1945]. Beograd: Institut za istoriju radni?kog pokreta Srbije.

Heath, P., & Schneewind, J. B. (1997). Lectures on ethics. Cambridge University Press.

Isaac, R. K., & Çakmak, E. (2014). Understanding visitor’s motivation at sites of death and disaster: The case of former transit camp Westerbork, the Netherlands. Current Issues in Tourism, 17(2), 164–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2013.776021

Ivanova, P., & Light, D. (2018). ‘It’s not that we like death or anything’: Exploring the motivations and experiences of visitors to a lighter dark tourism attraction. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 13(4), 356–369. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2017.1371181

Jamin, A., Zain, Z. M., Sakarji, S. R., Ahmad, N., & Beta, R. M. D. M. (2020). The benefits of dark tourism experience among visitors in Malaysia. KnE Social Sciences, 219–228. http://dx.doi.org/10.18502/kss.v4i6.6600

Kang, E. J., Scott, N., Lee, T. J., & Ballantyne, R. (2012). Benefits of visiting a ‘dark tourism site: The case of the Jeju April 3rd Peace Park, Korea. Tourism Management, 33(2), 257–265. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2011.03.004

Karacic, S., & Oreskovic, S. (2017). Internet addiction through the phase of adolescence: A questionnaire study. JMIR Mental Health, 4(2), e5537. http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/mental.5537

Kragujeva?ki oktobar Memorial Park. (2023). About us. Retrieved May 18, 2023 from http://www.spomenpark.rs/en/home/

Lee, M. E., & Driver, B. L. (1999). Benefits-based management: A new paradigm for managing amenity resources. In J. Aley, W. R. Burch, B. Conover & D. Field (Eds.), Ecosystem management: Adaptive strategies for natural resources organizations in the 21st century (pp. 143–154). Philadelphia: Taylor & Francis.

Lennon, J. (2017). Dark tourism. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.013.212

Lennon, J. J., & Powell, R. (2018). Dark tourism and cities. International Journal of Tourism Cities, 4(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJTC-03-2018-086

Lewis, H., Schrier, T., & Xu, S. (2021). Dark tourism: Motivations and visit intentions of tourists. International Hospitality Review, 36(1). 107–123. https://doi.org/10.37741/t.70.4.6

Light, D. (2017). Progress in dark tourism and thanatourism research: An uneasy relationship with heritage tourism. Tourism Management, 61, 275–301. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.01.011

Makwanise, N., & Masunda, O. C. (2023). The potential of anonymous polling software in leadership decision making at the National University of Science and Technology: N/A. Alkebulan: A Journal of West and East African Studies, 3(1), 11–19.

Martini, A., & Buda, D. M. (2020). Dark tourism and affect: Framing places of death and disaster. Current Issues in Tourism, 23(6), 679–692. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2018.1518972

Martinovi?, M. (2013). Exhibition space of remembrance: Rhythm analysis of Memorial Park Kragujeva?ki oktobar. SAJ-Serbian Architectural Journal, 5(3), 306–329.

McIntosh, A. J. (1999). Into the tourist’s mind: Understanding the value of the heritage experience. Journal of Travel Tourism Marketing, 8(1), 41–64. https://doi.org/10.1300/J073v08n01_03

McIntosh, A. J. (1997). The experiences and benefits gained by tourists visiting socio industrial heritage attraction (Unpublished PhD thesis) (Open University). Edinburgh: Queen Margaret College.

Miles, S. (2014). Battlefield sites as dark tourism attractions: An analysis of experience. Journal of Heritage Tourism, 9(2), 134–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743873X.2013.871017

Millán, M. G. D., Millan Vazquez de la Torre, M. G., & Hernandez Rojas, R. (2021). Dark tourism in Southern Spain (Córdoba): An analysis of the demand. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2740. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052740

Min, J., Yang, K., & Thapa-Magar, A. (2021). Dark tourism segmentation by tourists’ motivations for visiting earthquake sites in Nepal: Implications for dark tourism. Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research, 26(8), 866–878. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2021.1925315

Prentice, R. C., Witt, S. F., & Hamer, C. (1998). Tourism as experience: The case of heritage parks. Annals of Tourism Research, 25(1), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-7383(98)00084-X

Reed C. C. (2007). Shedding light on dark tourism. Retrieved May 18, 2023 from gonomad.com

Rojek, C. (1993). Fatal attractions. In C. Rojek (Ed.), Ways of Escape: Modern Transformations in Leisure and Travel (pp. 136–172). London: Palgrave Macmillan UK.

Rowe, M. (2007). Intrepid travellers break new ground. Daily Telegraph 20th October. pT8.

Seaton, A. V. (1999). War and thanatourism: Waterloo 1815–1914. Annals of Tourism Research, 26(1), 130–158. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0160-7383(98)00057-7

Sharpley, R. (2018). Tourism, tourists and society. Routledge.

Stone, P. (2013). Dark tourism scholarship: A critical review. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 7(3), 307–318. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-06-2013-0039

Stone, P. R. (2012). Dark tourism and significant other death: Towards a model of mortality mediation. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(3), 1565–1587. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2012.04.007

Stone, P. R., & Sharpley, R. (2008). Consuming dark tourism: A thanatological perspective. Annals of Tourism Research, 35(2), 574–595. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2008.02.003

Tang, Y. (2014). Dark touristic perception: Motivation, experience and benefits interpreted from the visit to seismic memorial sites in Sichuan province. Journal of Mountain Science, 11, 1326–1341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-013-2857-4

Tavakol, M., & Dennick, R. (2011). Making sense of Cronbach’s alpha. International Journal of Medical Education, 2, 53. https://doi.org/10.5116/ijme.4dfb.8dfd

Thurnell-Read, T. P. (2009). Engaging Auschwitz: An analysis of young travellers’ experiences of holocaust tourism. Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice, 1(1), 26e52.

Tunbridge, J., & G. Ashworth (1996). Dissonant heritage: The management of the past as a resource in conflict. Chichester: Wiley.

Vukašinovi?, B. (2020). Kragujevac u 2019. posetilo 53.500 turista [In 2019, 53,500 tourists visited Kragujevac]. Retrieved May 18, 2023 from https://www.infokg.rs/info/kragujevac-u-2019-posetilo-53-500-turista.html

Wyatt, B., Leask, A., & Barron, P. (2022). Designing dark tourism experiences: An exploration of edutainment interpretation at lighter dark visitor attractions. In R. Isaac (Ed.), Dark Tourism Studies (pp. 75–91). Routledge. http://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781003266723-6

Zheng, C., Zhang, J., Qian, L., Jurowski, C., Zhang, H., & Yan, B. (2018). The inner struggle of visiting ‘dark tourism’sites: Examining the relationship between perceived constraints and motivations. Current Issues in Tourism, 21(15), 1710–1727. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2016.1220512

Zheng, C., Zhang, J., Qiu, M., Guo, Y., & Zhang, H. (2020). From mixed emotional experience to spiritual meaning: Learning in dark tourism places. Tourism Geographies, 22(1), 105–126. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616688.2019.1618903