WestminsterResearch http://www.westminster.ac.uk/research/westminsterresearch Post-communist capital city tourism representation: a case- study on Bucharest Claudia Sima School of Architecture and the Built Environment This is an electronic version of a PhD thesis awarded by the University of Westminster. © The Author, 2013. This is an exact reproduction of the paper copy held by the University of Westminster library. The WestminsterResearch online digital archive at the University of Westminster aims to make the research output of the University available to a wider audience. Copyright and Moral Rights remain with the authors and/or copyright owners. Users are permitted to download and/or print one copy for non-commercial private study or research. Further distribution and any use of material from within this archive for profit-making enterprises or for commercial gain is strictly forbidden. Whilst further distribution of specific materials from within this archive is forbidden, you may freely distribute the URL of WestminsterResearch: (http://westminsterresearch.wmin.ac.uk/). In case of abuse or copyright appearing without permission e-mail [email protected] POST-COMMUNIST CAPITAL CITY TOURISM REPRESENTATION: A CASE-STUDY ON BUCHAREST C. SIMA PhD 2013 POST-COMMUNIST CAPITAL CITY TOURISM REPRESENTATION: A CASE-STUDY ON BUCHAREST CLAUDIA SIMA A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Westminster for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April 2013 Post-communist capital city tourism representation: A case-study on Bucharest Declaration This dissertation is the work of Claudia Sima. All other contributors are acknowledged in the text and listed in the bibliography. Word count: 73,720 words Post-communist capital city tourism representation: A case-study on Bucharest Table of contents Page Table of contents 1 Abstract 7 Acknowledgements 8 List of abbreviations 9 List of tables, figures and pictures 10 Chapter 1. Introduction 14 1.1 Opening remarks 14 1.2. Central and Eastern European post-communist capital city tourism 14 1.3 Case-study choice 16 1.4 Approach to tourism representation 16 1.5 Research questions 19 1.6 Structure of thesis 21 Chapter 2. Tourism representation 22 2.1 Introduction 22 2.2 What are representations? 22 2.2.1 The roles of representations 23 2.2.2 Characteristics of representations 25 2.2.3 Towards a framework for understanding representation 28 2.3 The object of representation: capital cities 31 2.4 Representation and language 35 2.4.1 Saussure and Foucault 37 2.4.2 Narratives 40 2.5 Representation and image 41 1 Post-communist capital city tourism representation: A case-study on Bucharest 2.5.1 Image and destination image 42 2.5.2 Image formation sources and the thinning line between organic and induced 45 2.5.3 Types of destination images: projected and perceived images 49 2.6 The process of representation 52 2.7 Conclusions 59 Chapter 3. Representing the post-communist capital city 62 3.1 Introduction 62 3.2 Tourism and capital cities in transition 65 3.3 Communist heritage and the post-communist built environment 71 3.4 Selling the post-communist CEE capital for tourism 71 3.5 Authenticity and identity 75 3.6 Stereotypes and stereotypical images 77 3.7 Conclusions 81 Chapter 4. Bucharest case-study 83 4.1 Introduction 83 4.2 Bucharest: key facts 83 4.3 Bucharest tourism 87 4.4 Conclusions 94 Chapter 5. Methodology and methods 95 5.1 Introduction 95 5.2 A qualitative approach in-line with the social constructivist paradigm 96 5.3 Research methods and stages 105 5.3.1 Sampling 107 5.3.2 Stage1: Analysis of destination materials 109 2 Post-communist capital city tourism representation: A case-study on Bucharest 5.3.3 Stage2: Semi-structured in-depth interviews with tourism professionals 112 5.3.4 Stage3: Analysis of tourist blogs 115 5.3.5 Stage4: Focus-groups with potential tourists 118 5.4 Approach to data analysis 122 5.4.1 Content analysis 122 5.4.2 Data analysis method chosen 128 5.4.3 Alternatives considered: discourse and narrative analysis 131 5.5 Analysis framework and emerging findings 134 5.6 Overall limitations of chosen approach to research 138 5.7 Conclusions 139 Chapter 6. Evidence for research question 1: How do textual and visual destination materials represent Bucharest for tourism? 140 6.1 Introduction 140 6.2 General observations on data 140 6.3 Cultural Bucharest representation 141 6.3.1 Cultural character 142 6.3.2 Cultural activities and events 146 6.3.3 Cultural heritage and venues 147 6.4 ‘Little Paris’ representation 148 6.5 Communist heritage representation 150 6.6 Entertainment and nightlife, stags and gambling representations 152 6.7 Dracula representation 153 6.8 Modern, European, chaotic, contradictory representations 154 6.9 Conclusions 160 3 Post-communist capital city tourism representation: A case-study on Bucharest Chapter 7. Evidence for research question 2: Why do these destination representations exist and what factors are affecting them? 162 7.1 Introduction 162 7.2 General observations on data 162 7.2 Results for sub-question 2.1: How do tourism professionals perceive Bucharest tourism representations and why do they think these representations exist? 165 7.2.1 Reasons behind ‘official’ representations 166 7.2.2 Reasons behind ‘unofficial’ representations 170 7.3 Results for sub-question 2.2: What factors influence Bucharest tourism representations according to tourism professionals? 172 7.3.1 Transition, change and politics 172 7.3.2 Negative image awareness 173 7.4 Conclusions 174 Chapter 8. Evidence for research question 3: To what extent do tourist textual and visual materials reflect destination tourism representations? 176 8.1 Introduction 176 8.2 General observations on data 176 8.3 Results for sub-question 3.1: To what extent and how do destination representations influence tourist experiences? 178 8.4 Results for sub-question 3.2: To what extent tourist images reflect destination representations? 182 8.4.1 Stereotypical images 183 8.4.2 Other images 187 8.5 Conclusions 190 4 Post-communist capital city tourism representation: A case-study on Bucharest Chapter 9. Evidence for research question 4: How do potential tourists perceive and interpret destination representations and how far these actually match their own images of the destination? 191 9.1 Introduction 191 9.2 General observations on data 191 9.3 Results for sub-question 4.1: What images to potential tourists have of Bucharest and where do these images come from? 194 9.3.1 Capital-country-region image overlap 195 9.3.2 Stereotypical images 197 9.3.3 Non-stereotypical images 199 9.3.4 Built environment and heritage images 200 9.3.5 Sources of information used 201 9.3 Results for sub-question 2: How do potential tourists perceive and interpret induced tourism representations? 202 9.3.1 The ‘strength’ of organic images 203 9.3.2 ‘Rejection’ of destination tourism representations 205 9.3.3 Potential tourists’ search for ‘authenticity’ 209 9.4 Conclusions 210 Chapter 10. Discussion of findings 211 10.1 Introduction 211 10.2 The process of tourism representation 211 10.3 Bucharest tourism representations macro-themes 220 10.3.1 Image and the relationship capital-country 220 10.3.2 Built environment and symbolism 227 10.3.3 Identity and managing history 231 10.3.4 Transition and change 237 10.4 Conclusions 238 5 Post-communist capital city tourism representation: A case-study on Bucharest Chapter 11. Conclusions and recommendations for further research 241 11.1 Introduction 241 11.2 Concluding remarks 241 11.3 Reflections on methodological approach 244 11.4 Recommendations for further research 247 Bibliography 250 Appendices 287 Appendix 1. Analysis of methodological approaches to representation 287 Appendix 2. Research instruments 292 Appendix 2.1 Stage1: Destination materials data collection instrument 292 Appendix 2.2 Stage2: Semi-structured interviews outline 293 Appendix 2.3 Stage3: Tourist blogs data collection instrument 294 Appendix 2.4 Stage4: Focus-groups outline 296 Appendix 3. Lists of materials and participants 304 Appendix 3.1 Stage1: Destination materials 304 Appendix 3.2 Stage2: Semi-structured interviews 323 Appendix 3.3 Stage3: Tourist blogs 328 Appendix 3.4 Stage4: Focus-groups 333 Appendix 4. Further evidence: sample of findings set in context 336 Appendix 4.1 Chapter 6: Evidence from destination materials 336 Appendix 4.2 Chapter 7: Evidence from interviews with professionals 337 Appendix 4.3 Chapter 9: Evidence from tourist blogs 338 Appendix 4.4 Chapter 10: Evidence from focus-groups 339 Appendix 5. Tabulation of results 345 Appendix 6. Sample of pictures 346 6 Post-communist capital city tourism representation: A case-study on Bucharest Abstract The focus of the project is on the tourism representations of Central and Eastern European post-communist capital cities and the process of representation. Drawing from a number of academic fields such as urban tourism, culture, marketing, and media, as well as original primary and secondary research, the study wishes to contribute to existing debates on tourism representations and post-communist Central and Eastern European city tourism. Bucharest is the case-study. The project adopts a multi-method qualitative approach in line with the social-constructivist paradigm. Analysis of findings employs NVivo8 content analysis programme. Findings reflect on the thin line between representation producers and consumers and on the cyclical nature of the representation process. Bucharest representations are dominated by stereotypical images of the destination, both on the projected and perceived side. There is a strong overlap between the representations and images of Romania and of its capital. Disagreements exist between the projected tourism representations of tourism government, tourism industry, and tourism media, and how tourists and potential tourists perceive the city and its projected representations.