The impact of the communist heritage on the destination image perceived by western tourists. The case study of Poland and Bulgaria (original) (raw)

Over recent years the importance of destination image on tourists’ decision-making process has been increasingly analysed as an important factor. However, the researches into this topic are still maturing. As noted previously, the tourism industry in the Post-Soviet countries has not been a subject of great interest from scholars. However, the uniqueness of the cultural and historical background of these countries contributes to tourism flows which are important to explore. Therefore, this dissertation examines the impact of the communist heritage on the destination image perceived by foreign consumers, focusing on two the post-communist countries – Bulgaria and Poland, which have a long history connected to communism due to Soviet occupation in the years between 1945 and 1991. Drawing on theories of tourists’ perceptions, heritage tourism, and destination image conceptualization, an empirical study was conducted using mixed methods. The semi-structured questionnaires with mixed que...