Journal of the Geographical Institute "Jovan Cvijic" SASA - Geographical Institute "Jovan Cvijic"
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BREAKING THE BUBBLE—ADDRESSING MANAGERS’ CULTURAL BIASES IN DESIGNING TOURIST EXPERIENCES
Full text linkAlthough cross-cultural interactions and cultural bubbles have been researched extensively in tourism, these issues have often been viewed one-sidedly. More precisely, in contemporary literature, cultural bubbles are mostly considered one-sided biases that prevent tourists from fully enjoying the culture of their hosts. Besides that, it is important to bear in mind that a tourist offer itself is also formed from the perspectives of tourism experience designers and tourism managers. Therefore, it is important to consider how the perception of a tourist offer is distorted by looking from inside the bubble of tourist culture. This paper highlights managers’ cultural biases in designing tourist experiences, which have often been overlooked in cross-cultural tourism studies. It is crucial to have this discussion now so that the global tourist industry can continue to provide local experiences, as tourism managers and employees in the sector are increasingly interacting with people from diverse cultural contexts. This might be beneficial for the cultural expression of destinations, on the one hand, as well as for providing more valuable experiences for tourists, on the other
EXPLORING THE IMPACT OF CVIJIĆ’S GEOMORPHOLOGY RESEARCH: A LEGACY IN FRANCE AND THE BALKANS
Full text linkJovan Cvijić (1865–1927) played a major role in the development of geomorphology at national and international levels. His personal qualities were crucial to this recognition, but the intellectual background of the second half of the 19th century and the transnational context of the Austro-Hungarian Empire facilitated this threefold development. In Vienna, in contact with his professors, starting with Albrecht Penck, he fully embraced a modern geography based on field observations as opposed to a cabinet geography, a geography that needed to be illustrated by drawing or photography. His physical geography hypotheses needed to be supported by solid naturalist and physical knowledge. It was in this spirit that he carried out his successive responsibilities in Serbia, both at the University of Belgrade and at the Geographical Society, and that he subsequently extended his research to other areas of physical geography: climatology, hydrology, impact of last glaciation, fluvial erosion, limnology, etc. His knowledge of the French and German languages enabled him to exchange ideas with his peers throughout Europe. He also shared his work through courses abroad, most notably in Paris in 1917 and 1918, and through publications in international journals. Thus, he strengthened his academic authority at national and international levels. It is in the field of karstology that Cvijić’s work remains most up-to-date, and his approach to field work, his constant exchanges with his peers, his concern for international issues and the practice of open geography are the foundations of modern physical geography
ILLUMINATING DARKNESS THROUGH VACATIONS
Full text linkDark tourism is fascinating because it unifies cultural heritage, history, and travels with death. Travels usually refer to hedonism and relaxation, but this niche tourism brought to the stage new dimensions: death and morbidity. Knowing that death is one of the greatest human fears, the authors investigated the domestic tourists’ perceptions of dark tourism and its development in Serbia. The research was conducted using an online survey. The questionnaire included three units: 1) sociodemographic characteristics, 2) familiarity and understanding of the dark tourism phenomenon, and 3) motivation for engaging in dark tourism. The results revealed that domestic tourists support dark tourism development, mainly due to its educational role. Tourists marked the acquisition of new knowledge, curiosity, and compassion as the primary motivators. Therefore, the older male population particularly expressed a dominant positive attitude toward the development of dark tourism. Once again, the important role of the local community in tourism development is confirmed, especially in “sensitive” forms of alternative tourism. Finally, the research contributes significantly to the theoretical framework and provides valuable guidelines for the planning and further development of dark tourism in Serbia
HOW TO IMPROVE INHABITANTS' ACCEPTANCE OF RAINWATER HARVESTING SYSTEMS? APPLICATION TO AN EXISTING COLLECTIVE RESIDENCE IN NORTHERN ALGERIA
Full text linkIn Algeria, at the present time, there are no rainwater harvesting systems (RWHS) registered with the public authorities as an alternative to the public water supply. This is explained by numerous factors, the most important being inhabitants’ acceptance. The aim of this article is to investigate the current level of acceptance of an RWHS as a viable method for backing up the public water supply system. Our hypothesis is that inhabitants’ acceptance can be improved by the increasing awareness of the benefits of an RWHS. For the purposes of this study, an RWHS located in northern Algeria was designed, and its benefits were measured and discussed with the direct participation of residents living in the building. The first benefit was the potential potable water saving (PPWS) and the second was the benefit-cost ratio (BCR). The PPWS was estimated at 51 m3/year. The BCR was estimated at 7% (15% with local council funding). This paper shows that, in the case of an existing building, inhabitant acceptance of an RWHS depends on three factors: (1) the amount of rainwater delivered by the RWHS; (2) the cost of building and managing it; and (3) the extent of the modifications made to the building
A COMPLIANCE ASSESSMENT OF GNSS STATION NETWORKS IN SERBIA
Full text linkSince the early 21st century, Global Positioning System (GPS) technology has dominated geodetic reference networks. Almost all countries established a permanent Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) station network to augment all available GNSS systems. By the end of 2005, Serbia completed the Active Geodetic Reference Network as a particular project of Serbia's Republic Geodetic Authority (RGA). Besides RGA, two private companies, Vekom and Geotaur, have established permanent station networks. This paper assesses the compliance of all the three networks, and network results are evaluated against the spatial distance determined by classical geodetic methods. When all available GNSS constellations are utilized, NAVSTAR, GLONASS, BEIDOU, and GALILEO, in the processing procedure, the established networks in Serbia align within a margin of about 3 mm across all coordinate axes. The results obtained within the research indicate that by using GNSS networks, it is possible to provide the coordinates of the points for the establishment of the national spatial reference system of Serbia, the reference system in almost all engineering fields, reference systems for the maintenance works of the real estate cadastre, and it is also possible to provide coordinates of points that can be used to define local, national, and world reference heights surfaces
DOMESTIC LEISURE TOURISM DESTINATION CHOICE AND WHO DO WE TRUST—THE CASE OF BULGARIA
Full text linkIn a world defined by ever-increasing number of goods and services, destination managers and planners are faced with an increasingly difficult task to attract and retain visitors. Understanding the dynamics of the destination decision-making process is crucial for destination, tourism organizations, and businesses to meet the evolving needs and preferences of tourists. In the same vein, it is imperative to study the factors that influence consumer preferences and more specifically, the factors the factors that influence destination choices. The purpose of the research is to explore how all of those factors influence the destination choice decision-making process and identify the most influential ones for the domestic tourism market in Bulgaria. The study is based on a national representative survey which utilizes a two-staged random sample (n=1003) stratified by the Bulgarian districts and the residence place type. The results of the study indicate that friends despite the ever-expanding role of information technologies and Internet, friend and relatives are the most significant influencers over destination choices among the domestic tourists in Bulgaria. 
EXPLORING THE SPATIALIZATION OF CULTURE: PERSPECTIVES FROM SLOVENIAN ETHNOLOGY
Full text linkThe article presents observations on the intricate processes of localizing peoples and cultures, drawing on their spatial mapping, a practice known since antiquity. The introducing part outlines general views on the causal relationship between culture and environment. The Enlightenment put forward the hypothesis of environmental determinism, which provided a rationale for linking people, cultures, and geographies well into the 20th century, particularly in anthropogeography and culture-area research. The isomorphism of space/place and culture characterized research until the late 20th century when the postmodern turns called it into question. The theory of practice and the spatial turn proved particularly influential in anthropology and ethnology. In this field, the central concept of culture has been deconstructed; this has stimulated debates about ethnography as a genre of “writing culture” and fieldwork as a locally grounded research practice. The second part of the text shows how Slovenian ethnology in the 20th century pursued cultural area research shared with other European regional or national ethnologies that focus on the national territory. However, research has not shown a clear correspondence between cultural and ethnic/national boundaries. In this respect, ethnology has maintained a critical distance from cultural essentialization. On the other hand, it has not particularly reflected upon space; space has functioned as the natural environment, the obvious background of culture. In this respect, the reception of the spatial turn brought a particular sensitivity to studying spatial practices and experiences and refining research methodologies
CATCHING-UP REGIONAL STRATEGY AS A TOOL TO REDUCE SPATIAL INEQUALITY
Full text linkThe article is devoted to the problem of spatial inequality of regions caused by centripetal or centrifugal forces because of agglomeration effects and interaction costs. It corresponds with the main idea of new economic geography. A differentiated approach to regional development strategizing is proposed in the study as a tool for reducing the level of spatial imbalance. Herein the use of technological arbitrage (catching-up) strategy is proposed for peripheral regions by strengthening interregional interaction. In the paper, two hypotheses are investigated: (1) The economic growth of territories, caused by industry diversification, positive externalities from Research and Development, the quality of human capital, which are typical of the “center” type of regions and (2) The formation of a unified macroeconomic space is possible due to strategies of technological arbitrage (catching-up strategy) for peripheral regions. Its implementation is possible through innovation, industrial-technological, and trade-technological complementarity development of peripheral regions with the central regions. The research methods are: panel regression with fixed effects, Data Envelopment Analysis method, and Malmquist Productivity Index, paired interregional complementarity indices. The study focuses on 10 regions of Siberian Federal District in the Russia, which differ in scale, structure, and level of innovative economic development. The study results confirm the possibility of reducing the level of spatial inequality using catching-up strategies and innovation complementarity of the regions. These strategies proved only for technical efficiency leading regions with high index of complementarity. In regions with a low complementarity index and different industry profile, large-scale interregional cooperation has not been confirmed
EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE PLOVDIV 2019: EFFECTS THROUGH THE LENS OF THE LOCAL COMMUNITY
Full text linkThe paper deals with the impacts of hosting the European Capital of Culture (ECOC) by the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv in 2019 through the lens of the local community. Based on a survey conducted in 2021 with 444 residents, the perceived effects of the initiative were discussed in four domains: (1) Cultural, (2) Economic, (3) Social, and (4) Urban environment and atmosphere. Descriptive statistics techniques and analysis of variance were applied to interpret the data and outline the differences in the perceptions affected by respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics. The findings indicate that in general, the ECOC impacts are perceived rather positively, although the locals are hesitant if benefits outweigh the costs incurred. None of the impacts is perceived as high by the survey participants, with mean values of agreement hardly reaching four on a 5-grade scale. The most recognized positive effects refer to the city’s cultural life and the opportunities for local artists to perform; next come benefits for tourism development and promotion along with improvements in urban environment and infrastructure resulting from the ECOC implementation. Less clearly perceived are negative effects such as the price rise and the preference given to tourists over the locals. Significant differences in perceptions are determined by respondents’ education, personal involvement in the ECOC organization, age, gender, and sphere of professional activity. However, such differences are found in roughly half of all 22 statements under study, meaning that certain perceptions depend on the socio-demographic profile while others do not
REGIONAL ISSUE, INNOVATION, AND THE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT
Full text linkThis paper models the relationship between economic development and environmental progress. It investigates the relationship between investment in innovation and uncontained emissions in the selected Russian regions from 2013 to 2018. The database contains information for 72 locations and is comprised of 432 observations (panel data, 72 regions multiplied by 6 years). Random-effects regression models have been applied to analyze panel data. In a study of 72 Russian regions over the period of 2013–2018, this research demonstrates that the growing research and development (R&D) intensity of regional firms leads to a larger ecological footprint and growing emission intensity. These effects are negatively moderated by the per capita income of the region’s residents and regional enrollment in higher education. The effects are positively moderated by the export intensity of regional firms. The results suggest that economic and ecological aspects of sustainable development are at odds with each other and indicate that regional policymakers should account for the negative ecological externalities of economic development when devising policies aiming to facilitate regional growth