Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the emerging practices of the “tourism of the ordinary” in the wider frame of post-socialist transformation of Serbia’s capital city – Belgrade. By sourcing the inspiration in cultural studies and classics of the studies of the ordinary, focus is directed to the patterns of tourism consumption of practices, places and people that do not fall in the category of tourism attraction. The attention is drawn to New Belgrade (Novi Beograd in Serbian), residential part of Belgrade built predominantly after the Second World War. New Belgrade lacks proper tourism infrastructure, commoditized attractions and consumerable tourism experiences on a large scale. Nevertheless, this part of the city is slowly becoming explored by tourists individually or in organized walking or cycling tours. Visits to New Belgrade are most often connected to alternative or hip visitors and have the allure of both urban exploration and cultural practice, as the tours are offered by specialist architectural organizations or individual guides. By introspecting the case of New Belgrade, this paper attempts to address the prospect that ordinary exist only in relation to the attraction and that its appeal comes from the fact that what is ordinary to someone is attraction to another. Design/methodology/approach As far as specific approach is concerned, some archival and librarian materials have been analyzed in order to map the territory that is being researched (New Belgrade) and to frame the significance of potential heritagisation (Harrison, 2013) on the built environment and its territory. Further, relevant websites and both primary and secondary resources have been consulted. This mostly refers to the websites of Tourist Organization of Belgrade (TOB) and the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments in Belgrade as two most relevant bodies connecting the urban fabric of the city and its tourism valorization. Findings In this paper, the authors have tried to demonstrate how tourism of the ordinary might be conducted in urban environment that lacks no tangible resources, whose physical physiognomies are not insignificant and which, in another, alternative tourism regime might be considered attractions. However, in the specific set of characteristics spanning from contested past to ambiguous contemporary valorization, New Belgrade remains an uncharted part of the city for much of the mainstream tourism, leaving its charms for very few visitors, most often engaged in interest of the “ordinary.” Originality/value Although Belgrade is experiencing steady rise in numbers regarding tourist arrivals, length of stay and on-site expenditure, New Belgrade is nowhere to be seen on the map of tourism offer, as per Belgrade’s Tourism Organization. TOB’s official web page, at the time this piece is written, in the section Attractions, mentions nothing regarding New Belgrade. Among 13 entries – 12 are historic sites of more than a century behind them and one is a lake and outdoor destination.

Deep-rooted political turbulence, along with the present hybrid regime, have resulted in an undesirable social, economic and political milieu in Serbia. Such an atmosphere is a fertile ground for a grey economy, corruption, nepotism and restrictions to media freedoms. These ?unconventional? means of social functioning, have caused a decline in trust towards state institutions and proportionally, increase of citizen participation in non-institutional models of engagement. The aim of this paper is to analyse one such model of non-institutional engagement: the local activist group Za nas Kej, operating in the area Savski blokovi (Sava apartment blocks) in New Belgrade. The authors analysed local residents? perception of the activist group Za nas Kej in comparison to the group?s narratives and actions. By using a grounded theory approach authors explained the role of groups such as Za Nas Kej in the development of participatory and deliberative democracy within the local community. Our data indicates that Za nas kej, despite its local character, does not have a strong foothold in the community, and thus receives only passive support. Citizens perceive Za nas kej as mediator between local institutions and residents of the Sava apartment blocks. Despite the failure to mobilise a wider group of citizens for their cause, this activist group continues to be a relevant (political) actor within the local community.

Fiumi urbani a Belgrado, Serbia. Trasformazioni radicali e pratiche urbane abusive in una capitale post-socialista Sanja IgumanUrban rivers in Belgrade, Serbia. Radical transformations and illegal urban p...

Abstract:This paper deals with the burning issue of sustainable tourism development in Belgrade, with an emphasis on re-interpretation and re-narration of local cultural and natural heritage. In order to understand the turbulent past, explain it in the present and preserve it for the future, this work enhances the symbiosis of specific geo-political position and natural preferences of Belgrade, being the starting point for interpretation of its heritage. Referring to studies about the city in a present-day form, the paper will show the crucial function of reading the signs that speak for a space significantly transformed through time. Furthermore, narration as the most important tool for increasing the knowledge and value of a place and its heritage will be underlined. The work refers to the local communities (in sense of understanding their multiple identity and heritage) as well as visitors, within the perspective of the so called "tourist gaze" (John Urry). One of the steps will be an attempt to re-interpret the significance of the Sava and Danube and their confluence in both natural and cultural sense.

Contemporary digital age is relying upon constant changes in the ways new technologies are used in forming authentic forms of networking. Taking into the account the development of sharing economies and their impact on the hospitality accommodation market, this paper will bring forward the processes through which informal short-stay accommodation units are articulated into museum spaces that bring multiple benefits to tourism destinations.