https://thesis.eur.nl/col/7037/ List of Publications en https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/71352/ Sun, 12 Jun 2022 00:00:01 GMT <div>Nguyen, Xuan-Tung-Lam</div> Traveling to a destination while engaging in clothing-related practices is referred to as fashion tourism. Over the past few years, there has been a growing interest in studying this niche of tourism. Several scholars have proved a variety of positive influences of fashion tourism on the development of localities. However, the majority of studies on fashion tourism mainly take an approach to Western perspectives with a focus on trendy contemporary clothing. Hence, there exists little understanding of fashion tourism in Asian countries that are renowned for traditional clothes. This thesis aims to address this gap in knowledge by exploring the motivations, experiences, and reflections of domestic tourists participating in traditional fashion tourism in Huế city, Vietnam. As a bygone capital of Vietnam in the 19th and 20th centuries, Huế city possesses a myriad of well-preserved heritage sites and other cultural products. The long-standing history and aesthetic landscapes of Huế city have motivated many Vietnamese people to travel and wear traditional clothing during their trips. In order to unfold the reasons why this place is appealing to domestic tourists, the qualitative approach, namely in-depth, semi-structured interview, has been adopted. In total, eleven people of diverse socio-cultural backgrounds participated in this thesis. They are Vietnamese tourists who have been to heritage sites in Huế city at least once over the last five years and dressed in traditional clothing on their journeys. The results of this research show that the participants’ perspectives on and affinity for traditional clothes are divided into three layers of significance: a tourism product, a social tool, and a cultural heritage representing national identity. In parallel with the multiple layers of significance, the motivations and experiences of domestic tourists follow a three-stage process, indicating that traditional fashion tourism is a form of escapism, a means of social interactions, and most importantly, a reflection of belongingness. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/71632/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:01 GMT <div>Elise van Kesteren</div> The following research examines how tourist destination images are projected through art exhibition and art museum TikTok short videos, and how such depictions are perceived and interpreted by museum audiences. So far, existing destination image research concerning destination image creation on social media platforms has predominantly focused on social media platforms that allow textual or pictorial posts. However, with the recent arrival of social media platforms that operate purely on short video content, there is a need to investigate how this format impacts the creation of destination images from both a production and consumption perspective. Furthermore, tourist destination image research has mainly highlighted the official travel-related platforms within the tourism industry, and little attention has been paid to less-obvious organizations that are also part of the tourism sector, such as museums. The gathering of data was accomplished through a mixed-method approach of online content analysis in the form of TikTok short video analysis, and semi-structured interviews with museum professionals and museum visitors. The results of the content analysis reveal that museum TikToks are composed of overlapping elements, including similar content, attention to cinematography, intentional text additions, and specific TikTok-related features. From the analysis of the interviews, it was concluded that the production side uses TikTok as a successful marketing tool. While destination images were deliberately manipulated through cinematographic aspects, the overall production of destination images was authentic to the offline experience. From the consumer perspective, audiences were positively engaged with the destination images projected through the museum TikToks, demonstrating changed perceptions and increased willingness to travel. Overall, there was more active viewer engagement amongst younger participants who were familiar with TikTok trends. The combination of the short-video format and the inclusion of human interaction with the destinations were most influential in changing tourist destination images. Finally, this thesis has found that the destination image projection on TikTok differs from other social media platforms because content providers can use the specific TikTok features to connect to online communities that exist within the borders of the social media app, catering their content to these audiences and communicating with them on an equal level. Simultaneously, museums can provide and democratize art and history knowledge for younger TikTok audiences and people who are not able to visit museums. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/71633/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:01 GMT <div>Vasco Dias de Sousa</div> This study discusses how tourists reflect their experience of visiting some of the poorest areas of the globe in a guided tour. Slum tourism is a rising touristic practice that connects the two distinct worlds of poverty and tourism, making it a very interesting phenomenon to research. This thesis analyses the tourists’ experiences of Manilla, Kibera, and Belen slums in TripAdvisor reviews and travel blogs. It followed a qualitative thematic analysis of 337 reviews and 11 blogs posts. Several debates are prevalent in academia that position slum tourism as voyeuristic and as an exploitation of the poor. However, it is also asserted to enhance the life quality of the slum dwellers, to bring economic developments and other non-material benefits, challenging the voyeurism critiques. Slum tours provide the tourists an encounter with the authentic, unspoiled, and uncorrupted by modernity. If slums are carriers of authenticity, they at the same time are significant of post-colonial tourism discourses of “othering”. In this sense, visitors feel motivated with a search for authenticity, but also to contribute and get educated to the “others” reality. Different authors researched how tourists frame slums as places of hope, progress, and self-development in TripAdvisor, neglecting the attention to real problems and need for structural changes. Tour guides are argued to twist the representation of the slums’ reality, complacent with narratives of hope, romanticizing and normalizing extreme poverty. The present thesis highlights that the tourists are attentive to the harsh reality of the slums. Although reflecting on their experience as challenging, authentic, unvarnished, and incredible, they did not fail in recognizing the need for structural changes in slums. Findings show that tourists left the slums “enlightened” and “humbled”, valuing their own privileged lives. Their slum experience left them attentive to the huge disparities prevalent in the world and with desires to contribute in any way possible, not sharing a view of a “romanticized poverty”. However, this narrative is also implied as an attempt to ease their uneasy feeling of being tourists in a place of death, filth, and starvation. In this sense, a negotiation about the ethical value of their experience was constantly questioned in their discourse. Still, narratives of doing the “right thing” were frequent, acknowledging the two-ended benefits of the tours. The guides are argued to be important pieces in a slum experience, defending their first-hand knowledge and active role in the slums´ development. The analysis highlighted that their experience was authentic and not considered voyeuristic, and slums were framed as places of interesting cultural expressions, hope, happiness, hard work, but of huge inequalities and injustice. Guided tours were, in this regard, very informative and educational, framed as a step in the right direction, and as mean to contribute in some way. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/71634/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:01 GMT <div>Patricia Dowling</div> The success of Nigerian artists and the Afrobeats music genre hold consistent momentum in dominating the international stage. A spotlight is shining on Nigeria’s artistry, culture, local languages, and the proud showcasing of Nigerian heritage. The meteoric rise of Afrobeats has turned up the volume on the familiar up-tempo beats associated with West Africa, and now the world is listening. With a global lens firmly directed at the Nigerian music industry, this thesis explores how this phenomenon has impacted the Nigerian diaspora based in The Netherlands from a cultural perspective. The research seeks to understand how this impact, if any, has presented itself and potentially changed views and outlooks of the Dutch-based diaspora on their Nigerian roots. The main themes explored centre around the diasporic sense of belonging, cultural identity, and connection with their homeland. The research design incorporated qualitative methods through interviews with sixteen participants living in the Netherlands. All were either born in The Netherlands to a Nigerian parent or are Nigerian-born, having immigrated over ten-plus years ago. All participants are Afrobeats fans and of an age range of eighteen and above. The findings show, through a thematic analysis approach, there is a perceived shift in the image of Nigeria abroad among the diaspora and their peers. There is a strong sentiment that African music is finally having a long, overdue moment in the global music industry, where it existed for decades. The development of social media has played a pivotal role in this genre’s international reach. A notable shift has occurred within the diasporic community born outside of Africa, but with African roots, toward their African heritage. This link was not always celebrated historically in The Netherlands. Overall, a sense of pride and belonging among the diaspora has grown, and they are witnessing first-hand a positive shift in how the world sees their Nigerian homeland https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/71635/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:01 GMT <div>Maura Stöckli</div> Travel vlogs, as a type of user-generated content, participate in the shaping of destination image (DI). This digital reality, often seen on the platform YouTube, eases the production and consumption of tourism, in which meaning-making processes take place, such as the framing of travel destinations in different contexts. DI is thus made sense of through vloggers' and followers’ perceptions and evaluations, which influence the messages conveyed in and through vlogs. However, despite the existence of previous research on the power social media have on travellers’ behaviours and destination management organizations’ advertising strategies, only a few touch upon the creation and discussion of narratives arising from vlogs’ content. There is a particular lack of focus on viewers’ negotiations of the framed DI in vlogs, especially missing out on their engagement in the comments section. For this reason, using Switzerland as a case study, this thesis aimed to answer the following research question: How and in what ways do non-Swiss travel vloggers shape the destination image of Switzerland on YouTube, and how do their viewers negotiate these in and through their engagements in the comment section? With a netnography approach, Hall’s (1980) coding and decoding model and other helpful theoretical concepts, 26 vlogs and respective comments were analysed and coded. The findings revealed that Switzerland’s DI is shaped by different framings tied into experiences, narratives and subjective negotiations of it. The results not only allowed to answer the thesis question but also highlight the theoretical information given and the relevance of the realm of vlogs, in connection with broader themes such as digitalization and tourism management. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/71636/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:01 GMT <div>Mai Ly Gorbach</div> This master's thesis examines the experiences and meaning-making processes of international K-beauty tourists to South Korea, and explores the influence of Korean popular culture on their travel decisions and experience. The thesis applied in-depth interviews as a qualitative research method to gather insights from eleven K-beauty enthusiasts from across the world that have visited Korea. Through thematic analysis, the findings reveal a complex interplay between Korean popular culture, lifestyle and tourism. The results demonstrate that Korean popular culture, particularly celebrities of K-pop and K-drama, plays a significant role in motivating individuals to travel to South Korea for K-beauty experiences. Moreover, the paper uncovers the concept of beauty hyperreality in South Korea, characterised by seemingly infinite beauty options, and an association with Korean popular culture. K-beauty tourism in South Korea provides unique opportunities for tourists to engage in an encounter with beauty that extends beyond the practical experience of K-beauty, encompassing elements of lifestyle, cultural exploration and popular culture tourism. Aside from that, valuable findings were furthermore gathered regarding the impact of K-beauty tourism on tourists’ perception on self care and personal expression through beauty practices. The findings, therefore, shed light on the ways in which K-beauty tourism combines elements of popular culture, lifestyle, and tourism. Understanding the influence of Hallyu and aspirational experience associated with K-beauty is a testimony to the country's soft power. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/71631/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:01 GMT <div>Keisa Meyjes</div> This thesis examines the current discourses that are used to describe the misbehavior of tourists in contemporary English-speaking newspapers. Currently, the role of media and media frames is significant in shaping the public opinion on certain matters. Because of the significant role of media frames, this research looked into how English-speaking media framed the misbehavior of tourists at destinations that oftentimes deal with overtourism and how this affects the perception of that particular destination. By means of a qualitative content analysis, 81 news articles from three British newspapers, four American newspapers, and two news broadcasters BBC and CNN were researched. After this, the articles were analyzed through a framing analysis. This eventually led to emergence of four current discourses that are used for the portrayal of misbehavior of tourists in the media. The discourses are single characteristics of tourists, explaining the misbehavior of tourists as a consequence of overtourism, types of observed misbehavior, which is subdivided into four types of misbehavior, and lastly, the approaches to limit the observed misbehavior. The four mentioned discourses were determined based on how these discourse fits into the existing media frames coined by Semetko and Valkenburg (2000). The frames observed were the human-interest frame, conflict frame, absence of moral constraints frame, (economic) consequences frame and responsibility frame. The discourses affect how a destination is framed by the media, and how this results in the type of tourist that is attracted to the destination. It was observed that the reporting of misbehavior of tourists is often framed as a conflict between locals and tourists. This resulted in a one-sided narrative in the reporting of the results of overtourism where the locals express their opinion on the misbehavior of tourists, it adds to the continuation of how the destination is framed by the media. This research argues that the importance of framing, of the misbehavior as well as the framing of destinations that struggle with overtourism have a significant effect on the perception and public opinion one has about a destination, and therefore could affect the success of a tourism destination. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/71640/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:00:01 GMT <div>Nicolò Morando</div> This thesis examines the reuse of industrial heritage and its implications for future development, focusing on the case of Olivetti industrial heritage in Ivrea, Italy. The research adopts a mixedmethod approach, combining semi-structured interviews with 11 key stakeholders and ethnographic fieldwork. By exploring the synergies between values and the physical industrial spaces, this study seeks to explore the narratives about the future of Ivrea's industrial heritage. The findings reveal that tourism and its potential to generate economic advantages for the area play a significant role in shaping these narratives. However, the study also shows that, beyond the economic benefits, the actors involved in the reuse process draw inspiration from the intangible values of Olivetti's company. They recognise the potential of these values to enhance community well-being and contribute to the long-term development of the town. This study sheds light on the significance of considering both tangible and intangible aspects when designing policies for industrial heritage reuse. Moreover, this research contributes to the existing literature on industrial heritage reuse by examining the process as it unfolds. It goes beyond the mere analysis of issues and successes of industrial heritage reuse to investigate the ongoing making of the process. By doing so, it can provide valuable insights and helpful recommendations for policymakers and stakeholders involved in similar projects. Overall, this thesis presents a comprehensive analysis of the reuse of Olivetti industrial heritage in Ivrea. It underscores the importance of understanding the multiple values associated with industrial heritage and their role in shaping future narratives. The findings can contribute to developing effective policies that harness the synergies between physical environments and people reusing them. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/74769/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 00:00:01 GMT <div>Saf Vermeule</div> South Africa has a remarkably complex history, characterised by the harsh realities of apartheid, which officially ended only three decades ago. Despite the legal end of apartheid, one can argue that its legacy persists, as the social and economic effects remain deeply inherited in South African society. The rapid expansion of townships are an example of the lingering effects. These underdeveloped areas, predominantly inhabited by black or coloured people, have seen little to no development over the years, in stark contrast to other parts of South Africa, and particularly Cape Town, which have flourished. Township tourism provides an opportunity for tourists to experience what many of them perceive to be the authentic essence of South Africa. For township residents, this form of tourism can bring a sense of visibility and acknowledgement, as they find themselves recognized by visitors from different cultural backgrounds. However, tourists often arrive with negative stereotypes, particularly regarding safety and danger in townships. Guides play a crucial role in township tours, as they have the ability to either reinforce or dispel these stereotypes. Acting as cultural intermediaries between tourists and local residents, guides provide valuable insights and context that can challenge and reshape visitors’ preconceived notions. As local residents themselves, these guides have firsthand experience of the hardships endured during apartheid and the ongoing struggles faced by their communities. This unique perspective allows them to authentically convey the complexities of township life, but it also places them in a position where they must navigate a delicate power imbalance between the visiting tourists and their own community members. They must balance the need to accurately represent their community’s reality while managing the expectations and behaviour of the tourists. This thesis aims to research the following question: ‘’How do township tour guides utilise strategies to manage tourist behaviour, highlight key elements of the township, and effectively conclude the experience?’’ By examining these strategies, the research seeks to understand how guides influence tourists’ perceptions and interactions, ultimately contributing to a more nuanced and respectful understanding of township life. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/74771/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 00:00:01 GMT <div>Rio Shimizu</div> This paper explores the effective tourism strategies that tackle overtourism and maintain residents’ quality of life (QoL.) Given the current tourism situation where many cities have been witnessing overcrowding at destinations, a phenomenon known as overtourism, residents’ quality of life has deteriorated in terms of congestion in public transportation and tourism annoyances. Since sustaining residents’ quality of life is vital to tackle overtourism and continuing further tourism development, this thesis explored the following research question: “How have the cities of Kyoto and Vienna ensured citizen’s QoL while continuing to develop tourism activities?” Moreover, as both cities have shifted their focus to quality tourism, the following sub-question was also explored which is “What specific strategies have been implemented to promote quality tourism?” The goal of this thesis is to investigate the effective tourism strategies that Kyoto and Vienna have implemented and how they have ensured residents' QoL in their strategies. Given that both cities have been illustrating healthy tourism development and gaining support from their residents, a variety of strategies proposed in this thesis might help tourism stakeholders to select or adapt tourism strategies to their tourism contexts. Since the current literature lacks empirical cases on how residents’ QoL is exactly implemented in tourism policies (Berbekova et al., 2023), it is academically significant to find effective tourism strategies that tackle overtourism and residents’ QoL. In addition, since residents’ QoL is negatively affected due to overtourism, it is socially significant maintain residents’ QoL and incorporate it into tourism strategies. In this thesis, qualitative content analysis on Kyoto and Vienna’s tourism policies has been conducted by using Objective QoL Indicators and applying the TPCQ model to analyze the data. In total 11 documents were collected and QoL indicators were used to identify the types of QoL maintained in tourism policies and TPCQ model was used to understand the way they have ensured residents’ QoL in their strategies. The main finding is that both Kyoto and Vienna have shifted their focus to quality tourism and have been aiming to enhance citizens' livability as well as tourist experiences. Kyoto and Vienna have ensured residents’ QoL through promotion of lesser-known areas, upgrading the tourism segment, and making the local population aware of the benefits of tourism. This will help maintain the quality of life of the local population and gain residents’ support for further tourism development. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/74773/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 00:00:01 GMT <div>Kajori Ganguly</div> This research investigates the phenomenon of Bollywood's influence on domestic tourist motivations of Indians. While existing studies explore how Bollywood incites outbound travel, this paper delves into how Indian audiences are inspired to travel domestically due to cinematic portrayals. Theories regarding film-tourism and tourist motivations in general, as well as in the Indian environment, have been touched upon in order to contextualize the study. Grounded theory methodology guides this qualitative study, employing semi-structured interviews to gather in-depth data. The analysis confirms the profound impact of Bollywood on Indian lives, extending to their travel aspirations. The findings reveal a multi-faceted influence on domestic tourist motivations. Firstly, the portrayal of cultures and landscapes in films ignites a desire to experience these locations firsthand. Secondly, a sense of fandom drives some to visit filming locations, seeking a connection with their favorite movies and stars. Finally, an interest in the production process itself motivates travel, with some yearning to witness the behind-the-scenes magic. This research sheds light on a previously overlooked aspect of Asian film-induced tourism. The study focuses on a specific demographic within India, and further research could explore a wider audience. Additionally, future studies could quantify the actual impact of Bollywood on domestic tourist footfall. By delving deeper, a more comprehensive understanding of this evolving phenomenon and its implications for the Indian tourism industry can be gained. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/74774/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 00:00:01 GMT <div>Amber Derkx</div> In exploring the motivations, experiences, and meaning ascriptions of Dutch young adults in their backpacking to Southeast Asia, this thesis moves towards understanding the lure of faraway destinations amidst observed gaps between sustainable attitudes and sustainable behaviours in the contemporary Western backpacker sector. While backpackers have long been praised for embodying flexibility, lengthy trips, and culturally immersive behaviour, its contemporary form illustrates the opposite has been happening. With partakers’ flexibility restricted by time, a common trotting of overdeveloped popular routes, mitigated host-visitor connections through maintained backpacker interrelations, and prioritisation of ego-centric motivators such as self-development and personal enjoyment. The Dutch tourist embodies postmodern motivations for cultural immersion, yet also the Western-oriented point of view and indication of gaps between these attitudes and their realised behaviour, for example in terms of destination choice and trade-offs. Furthermore, the Dutch backpacker lacks representation in academic and non-academic sources. The perspective of the Dutch case thus provides a relevant perspective for investigations into the interrelation between motivation, experience, and meaning-making in their backpacking to Asia, facilitated by the research question: How and in what ways do contemporary Dutch young adults motivate and experience their backpacking in Asia, and what meanings do they ascribe to this?. These three interrelated concepts were translated into semi-structured interviews with ten participants in March 2024, lending this thesis the gathering of an in-depth understanding of persisting backpacking ventures to Southeast Asia. Thematic analysis facilitated the processing of data, from which the themes ‘Performing Backpacking and Enriching the Self’; ‘Escaping Home and Experiencing the Other’; ‘Immersing in Exoticism and Contrasting the Self’, and ‘Returning Home and Re-integrating the Self’ emerged. The Dutch backpackers are involved in a constant process of moving between the Self and the Other, as well as between life at home and away, in how the act of backpacking and Asia’s exotic differences are anticipated, sought out, made sense of, and reflected back upon. Resulting in experiences that are not believed to be obtained by travelling within Europe. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/74775/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 00:00:01 GMT <div>Matilde Brambilla</div> This study investigates the alignment of Amsterdam’s tourism management strategies with degrowth principles, focusing on the dichotomy between progrowth and degrowth. Over the past decade, the rapid increase in tourist numbers in European urban destinations has negatively impacted host communities and the natural environment, sparking discussions about the suitability of a tourism system centered on growth. This has led destinations to embrace degrowth principles, including Amsterdam, expressing commitment to curbing growth for a more sustainable and socially responsible visitor economy. The city emphasizes residents’ well-being, aiming to attract fewer, higher-quality tourists while shedding its transgressive reputation associated with drugs and sex-related activities in favor of a cultural focus. However, previous studies suggest that shifting towards 'quality tourism' can mask a pro-growth agenda, raising concerns about ‘fake’ degrowth or ‘greenwashing.’ This thesis has researched how Amsterdam's tourism management strategies commit to genuine alignment with degrowth principles. The study finds its theoretical framework on the conceptualization of overtourism, understanding of critical contributors, causes, social and ecological impacts, and potential strategies for managing and mitigating its adverse effects, focusing on the ongoing debate on ‘fair’ vs fake degrowth. Data was gathered from operational and promotional texts produced by the municipality, tourism authorities, and stakeholders, supplemented by expert interviews, yielding a sample size of 40 exemplary texts and 3 expert interviews. The analysis utilized the 6Ds & 6D-Ds framework (Blanco-Romero et al., 2019) and Fairclough’s three-dimensional model of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) to categorize tourism policy maneuvers and marketing strategy and examine the textual, discursive, and social dimensions. Results indicate that Amsterdam’s tourism strategy promotes a diverse and sustainable visitor economy through a mix of degrowth and pro-growth principles. This dual approach reveals a complex interplay between degrowth and pro-growth discourses, underscoring urban tourism management's complexities and potential contradictions. While the city aims to reclaim public spaces and reduce the negative impacts of tourism, efforts to attract ‘quality tourists’ and enrich the cultural offering suggest an underlying objective of maintaining economic growth. While Amsterdam’s policies are framed around reducing overtourism’s negative impacts, the parallel push toward quality tourism suggests a shift rather than a reduction of carrying capacity, indicative of 'fake degrowth'. The study highlights the importance of genuinely sustainable practices over superficial marketing tactics to ensure equitable and sustainable development, using terms such as ‘brand washing’ - an alternative to ‘greenwashing’ - indicating how they may enhance the city’s appeal to a selective demographic but does not necessarily equate to change. The findings contribute to the broader debate on sustainable tourism, informing policymakers and city marketers about the complexities and potential misalignments in current practices and emphasizing the need for a more nuanced understanding that transcends the binary classification of tourism policies as either degrowth or pro-growth. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/74768/ Wed, 10 Jan 2024 00:00:01 GMT <div>Emma van Wensem</div> In the heart of The Hague lies the Panorama Mesdag, an immersive circular painting created by Hendrik Willem Mesdag in 1881. This artwork transports its visitors to the 19th-century Dutch seaside town of Scheveningen, enveloping them in a seaside experience that evokes a sense of nostalgia through the ebb and flow of their memories This raises the question: How do the immersive elements of the Panorama Mesdag recreate the seaside environment and evoke nostalgic feelings in visitors that parallel those experienced at authentic seaside locations? To address this question, the study employed the diary method to capture the emotional and reflective responses of 20 participants who visited the Panorama Mesdag. This approach facilitated a detailed exploration of participants' personal experiences and the nostalgic sentiments evoked by the immersive seaside environment. The findings indicate that the immersive elements of the Panorama Mesdag, including the entry process, faux terrain, visual illusions, and the provision of props, were effective in recreating the seaside and evoking strong emotional responses. However, while auditory stimuli were present, the absence of other sensory experiences inherent to an authentic seaside—such as the sensation of wind and the smell of salty air—was a significant limitation for many participants, preventing them from feeling fully immersed. Despite this limitation, the study concludes that the Panorama Mesdag's immersive elements effectively recreate the nostalgic sentiments experienced in authentic seaside environments. By evoking a longing for simpler times, childhood adventures, and loved ones who are no longer present, the Panorama Mesdag enables visitors to relive personal memories and emotions associated with the seaside. Future research should explore how contemporary immersive technologies can replicate the seaside experience, maintaining emotional, sensory, and nostalgic connections, which will be increasingly important for environments threatened by climate change. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76533/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Lotte Verheggen</div> As cities grapple with the pressures of overtourism, many are shifting from growth centered strategies toward approaches that prioritize urban liveability. In this context, localhood-oriented tourism has emerged as a response to the rise of New Urban Tourism, where visitors seek out everyday life in residential neighborhoods. While localhood strategies promise more sustainable and community-driven tourism, their implementation often unfolds within broader frameworks of neoliberal urban development, raising critical questions about their actual outcomes.This thesis investigates how localhood strategies are implemented and experienced in Rotterdam's Oude Noorden, a post-industrial neighborhood identified in the city's 2020 tourism vision as a priority for place-based development. Despite policy ambitions to invest in local identity and quality of life, little empirical research has addressed how such aims translate on the ground.The central research question is: How can a genuine localist tourism policy for Rotterdam's Oude Noorden be implemented in the face of neoliberal development challenges? This is guided by a sub-question: How do Oude Noorden's local actors from government, academia, industry, and civil societyperceive the impacts and implications of localhood tourism implementation? Using a qualitative case study approach, the research draws on 14 semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from all four domains of the quadruple helix. Thematic analysis reveals three key findings: (1) ambiguity in decision-making power, exposing unequal influence among stakeholders; (2) a dislocating identity and offer, highlighting the narrowing of local appeal; and (3) Oude Noorden's resilient fabric, emphasizing the strength of grassroots initiatives. Based on these insights, the thesis presents seven context-specific recommendations to foster a more inclusive, place based, and community-led localhood strategy in urban tourism planning. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76535/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Anna Myrto Andrikopoulou</div> What happens when an entire landscape becomes a product and its people collateral losses? In the Cyclades, decades of tourism development have not only shifted the local economy but also renegotiated the boundaries of memory and belonging. The seasonal rhythms of return, founded on the basis of familiarity and modesty, echoed patterns of continuity that trace their roots to the 5,000-year-old history and culture of the Cycladic Civilisation, have been renegotiated under the logic of extraction. Landscapes are transformed into assets, access is determined by purchasing power, and tangible and intangible heritage and practices are repackaged as attractions or concealed altogether. This thesis explores how tourism, influenced by post-crisis development, has accelerated the cultural and spatial commodification of the Cycladic landscape, as well as how these shifts have affective and social consequences. The main question underlying the research is how modern tourism development standards reconfigure perceptions of belonging, access and memory, as well as the sociocultural implications of these shifts. Explored through semi-structured interviews with Greek and foreign visitors, the study presents reflections around the erasure of informal tourism practices, the decline of local culture and the effects of commercialised and seasonal economy. Nostalgia and feelings of loss emerge as expressions of resistance to the cultural and environmental erosion of the Cyclades, the rupture of generational communal rhythms and access to what was once considered a common good. The Cyclades are more than a case of uneven development; they demonstrate the emotional and cultural costs of a tourism model that prioritises profit over participation. Therefore, focus on continuity and inclusion is a fundamental element of the reimagining of tourism in the Cyclades and Greece as a whole. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76536/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Bob van Dijk</div> This thesis explores how visitors to World War II museums in the Netherlands experience and interact with the cultural memory of World War II. This research applies Jan Assmann's concept of cultural memory to explore the experience of visitors to World War II museums. Today, 80 years after the war has ended, there are ever fewer people alive who can tell firsthand stories of World War II. This makes examining how communicative memory is shifting into cultural memory more relevant than ever. The research took place at three different World War II museums in the Netherlands. At these locations, a total of 22 rounds of intervening participant observation were done. This meant conducting a mix of observations and discussions with the participants while walking through the museum. From these museum visits, several themes came up in relation to the visitor experience and the concept of cultural memory. At first, it became clear for what reasons people visited the museums. The next theme showed in what ways the museum was experienced, mostly unrelated to the concept of cultural memory. Visitors experience the museum both through emotions and through learning, with historical empathy and historical Verstehung as the deepest form of understanding. After this, the museum was explained as a space of relatability. The experience in a museum is highly dependent on what a visitor can relate to. This can occur in a multitude of ways, but it was found to be a significant aspect of the experience. Lastly, the findings suggest that personal stories, meaning communicative memory, are still an important part of the experience of cultural memory. Even while most of the visitors were not alive during the war, personal connections were an overarching aspect of the experience for most visitors. This challenges the understanding of the concept of cultural memory, because the binary, successive approach to communicative and cultural memory might be more fluid than proposed in the literature. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76519/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Clara Koch</div> This thesis examines the impact of social interactions on memorable solo travel experiences for female Gen Z members. It focuses on Gen Z as an emergent market segment and investigates how technology enables and mediates connections. While typically framed as a solitary endeavor, this research questions how solo travel is inherently shaped by social dynamics. The main research question examines how social interactions shape the memorability of solo travel experiences for female Gen Z travelers. Therefore, the objective is to investigate how interpersonal encounters and digital tools shape not only the travel experience but also the memory attributed to it. The research employed a qualitative analysis of thirteen semi-structured interviews with female Gen Z member who are currently living in Europe. Thematic analysis revealed that Gen Z women navigate a space between independence and connection. While all participants were seeking autonomy and independence, there was an evident social significance with other travelers. While the depth of these interactions varied from fleeting to long-term friendships, all enhanced emotional engagement and memory-making. With the help of digital tools participants stayed connected even after traveling, but more importantly, also connect with family and friends from home during the traveling. Digital tools not only served as guidance and reassurance for female travelers, but created safety nets over distances without which participants would not travel solo. Sharing memorable moments was another integral part of the experiences, as it enhanced meaning-making and reflection processes. Overall, three typologies emerged from the findings: The Social Solo Traveler, the Semi-Social Traveler, the Life Crisis Traveler, as well as a conceptual framework for Memorable Solo Travel Experiences (MSTE). This thesis contributes to the literature on Gen Z solo travel by reframing solo travel as an inherently social and digitally mediated experience. Implications include the need for tourism providers to design products that support emotional safety and community-building for solo travelers. Additionally, this thesis questions whether pre-conceived understandings of "authentic" solo travel impose exclusionary ideals, particularly for women, by undervaluing the collective dimensions that often define these experiences. https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/76520/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 00:00:01 GMT <div>Nadira Putri</div> Restaurants serving diaspora cuisine are vital cultural and symbolic spaces for the diaspora community, especially in cities heavily influenced by present and historical migration. The owners of these restaurants are placed in key roles to carry out the responsibilities of managing such a space while dealing with their own business endeavours. In pursuit of enriching current studies of gastronomy and the diaspora identity, this thesis examines how the owners of Indonesian restaurants in The Hague have positioned themselves in the diaspora cuisine landscape of the city. To answer the research question, semi-structured expert interviews were conducted with the owners, or their counterparts, of 12 Indonesian restaurants in The Hague that spanned approximately 14 hours. The thematic analysis revealed that these owners do not have full autonomy over their positionalities which have instead been established through a negotiation with their diners, their competitors, structural constraints, and cultural responsibilities based on family legacy and their personal diaspora identity. This negotiation then manifests in a fragile balance of dual identities of being a culinary ambassador for the diaspora cuisine and being a viable entrepreneur, which, when compounded by tensions with other stakeholders, can manifest in an incoherent identity of the diaspora cuisine due to inconsistent representations across the network of restaurants. The ability of the owners to position themselves and represent their cuisine is also hindered by external limitations, such as immigration policies and import regulations. This thesis contributes to existing literature and definitions on diaspora identity and diaspora cuisine, with a particular focus on culinary authenticity, memories, and entrepreneurial strategies. Additionally, this thesis calls for more acknowledgement to be given to the restaurant owners for their key roles in the construction of their diaspora cuisine, and for stronger institutional aid in support of their journey.