Legends of Places as Part of the Sustainable Development of Regions

Abstract

Many newly established thematic routes and parks include narrative traditions to be experienced in their natural environment. Quality products of this kind are the result of well-developed concepts that follow expert guidelines and strategies and can be, as such, part of sustainable tourism, which strives to preserve ties with tradition to the greatest extent possible. This article includes some examples of different presentations of narrative tradition or local legends in places and discusses the problems with which such presentations cope. The article particularly discusses two examples of thematic trails that are based on professional folklore and ethnological research. The first case involves research activities that served as the foundation for thematic storytelling routes in the eastern part of the Alps – Pohorje above Slovenska Bistrica in Slovenia – and in central Istria in Croatia. The second example shows the influence of a thematic trail on the knowledge about local narrative tradition among schoolchildren in Bovec in the north-western part of Slovenia.

The identification of cultural tourism geographies: Results from a Systematic Literature Review

“…tourism, contribuing to its revitalization (Lakomy, 2021). As positives impacts, sustainable tourism generates jobs (Lukác et al, 2021), promotes local culture and products (Agustarini et al, 2022;Xiao et al, 2018), and tries to preserve as much as possible the links with tradition (Kutin & Telban, 2021). Its development implies responsible management of the areas (Krajnović et al, 2021) that can benefit traditional rural activities, the environment and heritage but, if transformed into overtourism, it can harm and damage the natural landscape (Iannucci et al, 2022).…”

Identifying European and Chinese styles of creating tourist destinations with intangible cultural heritage: A comparative perspective

“…In a nutshell, the results of place making can be simply classified as tangible, intangible, and mixed. To achieve tangible results, narrative traditions or local legends, are used to establish thematic routes and parks including narrative traditions to be experienced with technology, electronics, and virtual communication as seen in Croatia and Slovenia (Kutin & Telban, 2021). Similarly, the general ICH of the Li minority highlight Binglanggu theme park which aligns with the state's ethnic minority narrative (Massing, 2018).…”