1,720,961 research outputs found
Field research of tourism supply and demand in mountain villages: the case of West Rhodopes architecture reserves
No full textProblematic cultural heritage in the context of tourism and Bulgaria: Key concepts, main features, and contemporary research
No full textGlobal trends of widening the scope of heritage for tourist consumption, as well as the growing interest among both producers and consumers in a more truthful and balanced representation of the past impose paying special attention to problematic cultural heritage in the context of tourism. Since the topic remains quite unpopular for tourism researchers in Bulgaria, this paper aims to present the key concepts explaining problematic heritage, outline the main features of such heritage as well as sketch contemporary research trends and gaps in this underestimated but promising academic field. Given the variety of terms used interchangeably in extant literature, the term “problematic” cultural heritage is proposed as appropriate for the Bulgarian context, emphasizing the notion of dissonant/contested heritage as a “problem to be solved”. Its relevance to Ottoman and communist heritage in the country is justified
Online survey of visitation and tourist behaviour in a protected territory—the case of Urdini Lakes, Rila National Park
No full textThe lack of comprehensive and reliable data regarding visitation and tourist behaviour at local level and especially in vulnerable environment has been acknowledged long ago as an issue by both academics and practitioners. In Bulgaria, this type of data is scarce and inconsistent, regardless of the increased visitor flow in certain mountain areas. The mass adoption of social media, as well as the development of online travel communities, allow research with more ease the target population, as opposed to traditional resource-intensive monitoring methods. This paper presents the results of an online survey of visitors to Urdini Lakes in Rila National Park, Bulgaria. The aim of the study is to identify the overall recognition of the area and the extent of effective visit by mountaineers, as well as the profile of visitors and their behaviour. According to the results of this study, the influence of social media on visitation and tourist behaviour in the case of Urdini Lakes appeared lower than expected and much outweighed by factors like accessibility and trail difficulty. Further research should combine more innovative and mixed methodologies regarding the usage of social media and its influence, which can combine and compare different types of data such as surveys, geolocated big data and visual methods
Social media and mountain visits – is this ‘friendship’ sustainable?
Get PDFThe role of social media in tourism has already been acknowledged in the academic literature but still little is known about its specific influence on mountain tourism in the context of the growing popularity of outdoor activities that threaten to harm fragile areas. The aim of this article is to find out the effect of social media on such visits, to outline patterns of tourist behaviour, as well as to reveal social media–induced effects, both negative and positive, regarding the sustainability of mountain tourism. Using an online survey among the members of a Bulgarian mountaineering Facebook group, we found out that it was information of practical use that was mostly searched for by its members, and which in turn can be easily converted into real visits to the area, and as such mainly attracting novice mountaineers. The study uncovered purely pragmatic perceptions in terms of sharing information and pictures about places in the mountains, with limited awareness about the possible negative environmental effects from the overpopularisation of these areas. This could be classified as a consumerist attitude towards the mountains that is nurtured by social media. On the positive side, such unawareness can be tackled by social media due to its mass informative power
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Get PDF“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Ottoman Heritage in Europe as an Оpportunity for a Cultural Route Development: An International Study of Students' Perceptions
Get PDFCultural routes as a contemporary approach in the presentation and preservation of cultural heritage while envisioning the sustainable tourism development principles has recently obtained considerable popularity. The establishment of cultural routes is widely seen as a successful tool for bridging distant places and people in recognizing their joint interests in preserving and utilizing cultural heritage while enhancing tourism offer. Ottoman heritage in Europe is considered somewhat a contested heritage, as it still represents a materialized manifestation of the complex social, ideological, and
political contexts of national identities and contemporary societies. Thus, it is significant to explore perceptions of tangible
and intangible heritage in different countries networked within the cultural route and their common goal in raising locals’
awareness, outlining the importance and capitalizing on their shared heritage through tourism. This work presents partial
results of wider research aimed at the identification of overall perceptions regarding Ottoman heritage in different European
countries and examination of general attitudes towards the development of the Sultans Trail cultural route stretching from Vienna to Istanbul. In the pilot stage of the research, we were addressing youth, in particular university students, examining their knowledge, attitudes and opinions concerning Ottoman heritage in their country and Europe. The online survey was directed to students at different Universities in participating countries - Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Austria and Turkey. Non-probability sampling was applied using a combination of purposive, quota and snowball techniques. Questions related to Ottoman heritage in Europe and a cultural route development perspective, meanings, preservation levels, attractiveness, problems and potentials were included. Preliminary results indicate differences in perception of Ottoman heritage among different countries, outlining the potential difficulties in the cultural route development process and strong resistance among some student groups in recognizing Ottoman heritage as a common heritage within national space
Evolution of Tourist Regionalization in Bulgaria: Objectives, Approaches and Results
No full textThe issue of defining tourist regions in Bulgaria and their management has been discussed in the country over the last 50 years and is still relevant nowadays. So far, many attempts have been made to develop an acceptable solution in regards of the nature, functions and scope of the tourist regions in the country but for a number of reasons and in different political and economic context they have not been successful. At the same time, the need for tourist regionalization in Bulgaria has been recognized by almost all stakeholders in the tourism sector over the last 10-15 years. The aim of this article is to review and compare the existing tourist regionalization schemes of the country, thus allowing to trace the evolution of tourist regionalization and to highlight the main theoretical deficiencies, as well as the underestimation of scientific principles and approaches that underlie its practical inapplicability. The comparative analysis covers all concepts developed over the last 50 years that present a specific scheme of tourist regions, taking into account the relevant explanatory notes. For the purpose of the comparison, 9 criteria have been selected, which refer both to the approach and objectives, and to the specific schemes and their compliance with basic practical requirements. The results of the comparative analysis are chronologically presented in a table for their clearer and easier perception. The analysis has shown that the numerous tourist regionalization concepts of Bulgaria differ greatly in objectives, approaches and tools applied, and respectively provide different results in terms of country coverage, taxonomy, degree of the schemes' details, etc. It has also shown significant differences in the tourist structuring of the country's territory, which are more visible in the period after 1990. The development of a methodologically sound, politically acceptable and applicable scheme of tourist regions is a difficult political and scientific task but it is achievable through a reasonable compromise between the theory and the views of key stakeholders, in compliance with legislation and in the context of its objectives. The effectiveness of tourist regionalization for the purposes of tourism policy and destination marketing ultimately depends on its practical implementation. Otherwise, it could be considered merely as an "academic" exercise, which may have a scientific but not an applied value
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Get PDFWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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