Original scientific paper

Selected characteristics of roots tourism in Slovenia

Miha Koderman orcid.org/0000-0001-7767-5522 ; Department of Geography, Faculty of Humanities, University of Primorska, Slovenia

Abstract

Although the term 'roots tourism' gained widespread academic attention, it remains relatively unknown
in Slovenia despite the country's considerable Diaspora with over 350,000 persons of Slovene origin living
in diff erent continents. Based on an empirical study of Slovene-American and Slovene-Australian ethnic
communities, this paper examines the main characteristics of this segment of the tourism industry. Results
show that visits of the Slovene-American and Slovene-Australian ethnic communities to Slovenia had an
impact not only on their sense of family/ancestral heritage, but have also enhanced their identity as Slovene
descendants. Th e respondents reported that in some cases their trip became an emotional 'pilgrimage' rather
than a 'tourist journey'. Furthermore, the survey indicates that roots tourism has a signifi cant impact on the
local and national Slovene economy.

Keywords

roots tourism; Slovene-American Diaspora; Slovene-Australian Diaspora; visit characteristics; Slovenia

Hrčak ID:

94254

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/94254

Publication date:

21.12.2012.

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