Experiencing Dracula's homeland

Transylvania has not only a geographical location as a province of Romania but also a mental meaning as Dracula's land. Dracula has become an important brand name for Romania, attracting many tourists in recent years - especially after the fall of communism. The main dimensions of Dracula'...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tourism geographies 2017-10, Vol.19 (5), p.756-779
Main Authors: Lupu, Cristina, Brochado, Ana, Stoleriu, Oana Mihaela
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brand names
Brands
Castles & palaces
Communism
Content analysis
Disappointment
Discontent
Dracula
experience
Geographical distribution
Halloween
Horror fiction
Internet
Meaning
Narratives
Overcrowding
Qualitative analysis
satisfaction
Souvenirs
Stairs
Tourism
Tourists
Transylvania
Visitors
web reviews
体验
内容分析
德拉库拉伯爵
满意
特兰西瓦尼亚
网络评论
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Summary:Transylvania has not only a geographical location as a province of Romania but also a mental meaning as Dracula's land. Dracula has become an important brand name for Romania, attracting many tourists in recent years - especially after the fall of communism. The main dimensions of Dracula's castle (i.e. Bran Castle) experiences shared online by tourists were identified to ascertain the primary reasons for satisfaction and dissatisfaction with visits and to test whether narratives and satisfaction vary according to the occasion (i.e. Halloween). Quantitative (i.e. computer-based) and qualitative (i.e. narrative) content analyses were conducted on the Web reviews written by visitors. The results reveal that the experiences are multidimensional, and they include the following themes: 'castle', 'visit', 'Dracula', 'inside', 'tourist', 'outside', 'trip', 'souvenirs', 'stairs' and 'Dracula's castle'. The main reasons for dissatisfaction are overcrowding, which is connected with the outside theme, and the disappointment of tourists regarding the old furniture, which is associated with the inside theme. The results also reveal that visitors are the most satisfied with their experience around the time of Halloween. The narratives shared online emphasise tourists' need to associate their imaginings with this region and castle, giving their experiences greater meaning through this destination's image as Transylvania.
ISSN:1461-6688
1470-1340
DOI:10.1080/14616688.2017.1336786