Tourism gentrification in smaller destinations in Central and Eastern Europe
(2019) SMMM20 20191Department of Service Studies
- Abstract
- In recent years, low-cost flights to smaller cities in Central and Eastern Europe grew fast. This growth offered tourists new possibilities to explore new, lesser-known destinations at a low price. At the same time, urban tourism is a common strategy for urban regeneration and development in Central and Eastern Europe, and therefore, a significant factor of the economic restructuring of Post-Socialist European cities. The relations between urban development and tourism are often discussed alongside the rather new concept of tourism gentrification. Previous research of the region in the field of tourism gentrification is scarce with its primary focus on large touristic cities such as Prague, Kraków, and Budapest. These studies have shown... (More)
- In recent years, low-cost flights to smaller cities in Central and Eastern Europe grew fast. This growth offered tourists new possibilities to explore new, lesser-known destinations at a low price. At the same time, urban tourism is a common strategy for urban regeneration and development in Central and Eastern Europe, and therefore, a significant factor of the economic restructuring of Post-Socialist European cities. The relations between urban development and tourism are often discussed alongside the rather new concept of tourism gentrification. Previous research of the region in the field of tourism gentrification is scarce with its primary focus on large touristic cities such as Prague, Kraków, and Budapest. These studies have shown that gentrification patterns in these cities center more around physical and commercial changes than socio-cultural and residential impacts. In smaller cities, which were recently connected by low-cost carriers, however, hardly any research has been undertaken, while tourism to these cities is growing at a high pace. The study therefore analyzed changes to the physical environment in three smaller less-known cities: Rzeszów, Lublin, and Ostrava. With the use of observations on site, observations on Instagram and semi-structured interviews, the study explained and discussed the influence of physical changes to tourism gentrification. The study showed that physical changes influence tourism gentrification along four different aspects:
• The construction of new neighborhoods in the outskirts influence commercial gentrification but also indirectly change socio-cultural aspects of the cities.
• The renovation and repurposing of buildings lead to a more attractive cityscape and local-driven commercialization but might also entail aspects of residential gentrification.
• The implementation of cultural and sportive attractions into the cities’ public spaces lead to a museumification and co-creation of tourist experiences, which impacts the socio-cultural diversity of the city.
• An aestheticization of non-renovated buildings through small paintings and graffiti lead to a geographical spread of tourists in the city together with a tourist-driven creation of attractions.
Insofar, physical changes influence and interact with a variety of tourism gentrification aspects in cities and are thus an essential part of the tourism development in cities. However, the lines between gentrification and tourism gentrification are blurred, and further research is needed to advance in the understanding of physical changes and their influence on tourism gentrification. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/8994460
- author
- Gasser, Christof LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- SMMM20 20191
- year
- 2019
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- Gentrification, physical changes, Poland, Czech Republic, Tourism, urban development
- language
- English
- id
- 8994460
- date added to LUP
- 2020-11-20 11:06:50
- date last changed
- 2020-11-20 11:06:50
@misc{8994460,
abstract = {{In recent years, low-cost flights to smaller cities in Central and Eastern Europe grew fast. This growth offered tourists new possibilities to explore new, lesser-known destinations at a low price. At the same time, urban tourism is a common strategy for urban regeneration and development in Central and Eastern Europe, and therefore, a significant factor of the economic restructuring of Post-Socialist European cities. The relations between urban development and tourism are often discussed alongside the rather new concept of tourism gentrification. Previous research of the region in the field of tourism gentrification is scarce with its primary focus on large touristic cities such as Prague, Kraków, and Budapest. These studies have shown that gentrification patterns in these cities center more around physical and commercial changes than socio-cultural and residential impacts. In smaller cities, which were recently connected by low-cost carriers, however, hardly any research has been undertaken, while tourism to these cities is growing at a high pace. The study therefore analyzed changes to the physical environment in three smaller less-known cities: Rzeszów, Lublin, and Ostrava. With the use of observations on site, observations on Instagram and semi-structured interviews, the study explained and discussed the influence of physical changes to tourism gentrification. The study showed that physical changes influence tourism gentrification along four different aspects:
• The construction of new neighborhoods in the outskirts influence commercial gentrification but also indirectly change socio-cultural aspects of the cities.
• The renovation and repurposing of buildings lead to a more attractive cityscape and local-driven commercialization but might also entail aspects of residential gentrification.
• The implementation of cultural and sportive attractions into the cities’ public spaces lead to a museumification and co-creation of tourist experiences, which impacts the socio-cultural diversity of the city.
• An aestheticization of non-renovated buildings through small paintings and graffiti lead to a geographical spread of tourists in the city together with a tourist-driven creation of attractions.
Insofar, physical changes influence and interact with a variety of tourism gentrification aspects in cities and are thus an essential part of the tourism development in cities. However, the lines between gentrification and tourism gentrification are blurred, and further research is needed to advance in the understanding of physical changes and their influence on tourism gentrification.}},
author = {{Gasser, Christof}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Tourism gentrification in smaller destinations in Central and Eastern Europe}},
year = {{2019}},
}