Flawed public diplomacy: when Croatia Instagram Riviera narrative destination branding ignores dark tourism amateurs

What is it about?

This article tackles the role of nation brand and tourism in Public Diplomacy through the case study of Croatia. The interest of the Croatian case lies in the contradiction between the official efforts to brand the country as a riviera destination, deleting all war memories and associations, and the alternative image emerging from the net as a fashionable dark/war tourism destination. This research suggests a new way to think of dark tourism in Croatia: an opportunity to tell new narratives about the conflictual past and come to terms with it. Post-conflict societies need memory, not silence and denial, and memorialization of contested sites could be a good starting point, especially considering tourism as a tool on the path of peace and reconciliation.

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