Warfare, Oral Tradition, and Tourism

Turkish folk narratives formed around the Gallipoli Campaign, which reflect the mental, psychological, and cultural attitude of Turks towards this war and hold an important place in Turkish folklore, also have the potential to make significant contributions to battlefield tourism of the region. The effective, creative, and innovative uses of the folk narratives conveying the mystical, supernatural, and miraculous events believed to have taken place in this war can be used in the enrichment and diversification of space, products, services, and experiences offered in battlefield tourism. The ultimate aim of the study is to discuss how authentic, creative, and innovative tourist attractions can be created by the valorization, remediation, and reenactment of intangible war heritage based on the example of the relationship between folk narratives about the Gallipoli Campaign and battlefield tourism in the Gallipoli Peninsula.

Segmenting Visitors to Battlefield Sites: International Visitors to the Former DMZ in Vietnam

<p>Vietnam is an emerging tourist destination with rapid development in the tourism industry over the last decade. Well-known for the Vietnam War, it is expected that battlefield sites are among the country's main attractions for international tourists. However, to date, there has been no research examining visitors to battlefield sites in Vietnam. This study aims to contribute to filling this perceived gap by examining the visitors to the former Vietnamese De-militarised Zone (DMZ). Its objectives are: (1) to identify tourist motivations for visiting the DMZ, (2) to segment the DMZ visitors based on motivations, and (3) to determine the importance of battlefield sites in tourists' decision to travel to Vietnam. International visitors to the Vinh Moc Tunnels, a site often included in the DMZ tour, were chosen as a study sample. Data in this study was collected in an intercept self-completed questionnaire survey, which resulted in a sample of 481 respondents. Statistical analysis of the data was supplemented by content analysis of qualitative findings where appropriate. The findings show that respondents visited the DMZ for a variety of motivations. Five motivations were generated from the factor analysis of 22 quantitative motivational items namely: Personal involvement, Interest in war related sites and exhibitions, Education and exploration, Location and convenience, and Novelty seeking. These delineated motivations were supported and extended by respondents' self-expressed motivations. Based on these motivations, three groups of visitors to the DMZ were identified using cluster analysis: the Battlefield Tourism Enthusiast, the Opportunist, and the Passive Tourist. These three visitors segments differed significantly in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, trip related characteristics, and especially travel decision-making. The Enthusiasts had the highest interest in visiting battlefield sites in Vietnam. The Opportunists tended to visit sites based on location and convenience, and the Passive Tourists indicated relatively low rankings for all reasons for visiting battlefield sites. This study also found that battlefield sites only played a small role in tourists' decision to visit Vietnam and that most tourists visited Vietnam for its culture, landscape and history. Several implications and recommendations arise from this study, including the need for continuing research on motivations for battlefield tourism in other countries. In addition, it is suggested that the educative function should be emphasised in developing battlefield sites as tourist attractions.</p>

Segmenting Visitors to Battlefield Sites: International Visitors to the Former DMZ in Vietnam

<p>Vietnam is an emerging tourist destination with rapid development in the tourism industry over the last decade. Well-known for the Vietnam War, it is expected that battlefield sites are among the country's main attractions for international tourists. However, to date, there has been no research examining visitors to battlefield sites in Vietnam. This study aims to contribute to filling this perceived gap by examining the visitors to the former Vietnamese De-militarised Zone (DMZ). Its objectives are: (1) to identify tourist motivations for visiting the DMZ, (2) to segment the DMZ visitors based on motivations, and (3) to determine the importance of battlefield sites in tourists' decision to travel to Vietnam. International visitors to the Vinh Moc Tunnels, a site often included in the DMZ tour, were chosen as a study sample. Data in this study was collected in an intercept self-completed questionnaire survey, which resulted in a sample of 481 respondents. Statistical analysis of the data was supplemented by content analysis of qualitative findings where appropriate. The findings show that respondents visited the DMZ for a variety of motivations. Five motivations were generated from the factor analysis of 22 quantitative motivational items namely: Personal involvement, Interest in war related sites and exhibitions, Education and exploration, Location and convenience, and Novelty seeking. These delineated motivations were supported and extended by respondents' self-expressed motivations. Based on these motivations, three groups of visitors to the DMZ were identified using cluster analysis: the Battlefield Tourism Enthusiast, the Opportunist, and the Passive Tourist. These three visitors segments differed significantly in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, trip related characteristics, and especially travel decision-making. The Enthusiasts had the highest interest in visiting battlefield sites in Vietnam. The Opportunists tended to visit sites based on location and convenience, and the Passive Tourists indicated relatively low rankings for all reasons for visiting battlefield sites. This study also found that battlefield sites only played a small role in tourists' decision to visit Vietnam and that most tourists visited Vietnam for its culture, landscape and history. Several implications and recommendations arise from this study, including the need for continuing research on motivations for battlefield tourism in other countries. In addition, it is suggested that the educative function should be emphasised in developing battlefield sites as tourist attractions.</p>

Book Reviews

Siobhan Carroll, An Empire of Air and Water: Uncolonizable Space in the British Imagination, 1750–1850 (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015), 290 pp., ISBN 9780812246780, $59.95 (Cloth).Ann Brigham, American Road Narratives: Reimagining Mobility in Literature and Film (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2015), x + 262 pp., ISBN 978-0-8139-3750-2, US $29.50 (paperback).Sue Beeton, Film-Induced Tourism, 2nd ed. (Bristol: Channel View Publications, 2016), xxv + 311 pp., ISBN: 9781845415853, $40.00 (paperback).Michael Carroll, Greece: A Literary Guide for Travellers (London: I. B. Tauris, 2017), xiv + 290 pp. ISBN: 978-1-78453-380-9, £16.99 (hardcover).John Eade and Mario Katić (eds.), Military Pilgrimage and Battlefield Tourism: Commemorating the Dead (London: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, 2017), xxi + 164 pp., ISBN: 9781472483621, $140 (hardcover).

The Emergence of France as a Tourist Icon in the Belle Époque

The coming of the railroad and trans-Atlantic steamships in the Belle Époque and of automobiles, movies, and inexpensive box cameras during the interwar years, all enhanced by the opera, theater, and gastronomy, facilitated the emergence of France as a leading tourism destination. During the interwar years, the Michelin Tire Company and Thomas Cook’s promoted battlefield tourism with guidebooks to First World War sites. Now a country that “one had to visit” to be considered culturally sophisticated in much of the western world, an elevated status appreciated by many locals as well, interwar France attracted Americans including Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, and Josephine Baker, and Germans such as Friedrich Sieburg, who wrote of “living like God in France.”