Anthropological Portrait of a Home Turned Into a Tourist Resource

Abstract

This article presents a part of research conducted on Radunica, a street located in Split, Croatia. Its primary purpose is to present and name the processes that took place in the local community, specifically the connection and the dynamics of changes caused by the tourist activities of the locals. The goal is to show how emotional attachment to home and the usage of it as a resource for profit influences and changes everyday life in the community. Through open-ended interviews, participation, observation, and a phenomenological approach, I have found that tourist activities in Radunica, alongside the financial gain as the most beneficial effect of tourism, are significantly changing the everyday life and culture of the locals by altering the notion and emotional connection to one’s home. In this manner, the sustainability of local communities becomes questionable, and collateral damage is also done to tourist activity. The main premise is that tourism is not a negative force that ruins communities, but that it can and should be designed and controlled, so it serves the local community and not vice versa. The goal of this article is not to present the positive or negative influences of tourismbut to raise awareness about some deficiencies of tourist activities in local communities and to look in the direction of solutions. Keywords : tourism, tourist activity, local community, Radunica, commodification, touristification