Red Tourism: Communist Heritage in Bucharest: From the Public Opinion to the Impact on the Landscape
摘要
Communism has left its marks in Bucharest’s landscape. In the pursuit of the ideal society, buildings were torn down, streets redefined, and new buildings and monuments erected. According to the theory of social constructivism, over the years and especially after the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1990s the meanings and the associations with those structures changed, leading to a dislike by the people and a following call for destruction. On the one hand, this study tried to assess the current opinions about those structures among the people in Bucharest, from the locals’ perspective as well as tourists’. Questions were asked on site and online about opinions related to the preservation of the structures, how a future use could look like and furthermore, associations with the structures and the possibility of a change with the Russo-Ukrainian war. On the other hand, the study performed a landscape analysis where maps were created showing the density of communist buildings in Bucharest, and statistics were evaluated regarding the importance of Red Tourism for the industry of the city. The results show that a large majority of the people is in favor of preservation and wants to see the communist structures used for educational purposes as well as a warning for future generations. A few needs regarding the improvement of the interpretation and usage of the structures have been identified as well within the study. At the same time, a touristic interest has been found regarding the communist heritage, which preservation can thus boost tourism income and therefore support the local economy.