Characterising the flows of Slovenian tourists within the former Yugoslavia with respect to post-communist ‘nostalgic context’

Abstract

Abstract Slovenia represents a key source in the tourist market for the new post-Yugoslavian states, but little is known about Slovenians’ tourism practices, especially in relation to the post-communist dimension. The term “Yugonostalgia” came into existence in the 1990s in the post-Yugoslav area, and it illustrates the attitudes of people looking for a life that would be better than their present one. The term is also connected to tourism, although it has been largely neglected in the tourism literature. In this study, a total of 384 appropriately completed questionnaires were recorded and prepared for empirical analyses. Some 83.0% of respondents repeatedly return to a former Yugoslav destination they had visited in the past. Hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering methods were used to identify clusters. Subsequently, cross-tabulations were employed to profile each cluster based on demographic characteristics, and chi-square tests were performed to validate the clusters and their mutual differences. Significant differences between groups with respect to survey variables were verified by one-way analysis of variance models. Three significantly different clusters were identified: (i) friends of nature; (ii) immigrants and their descendants (from the post-Yugoslav states); and (iii) moderate lovers of nature and culture. None of identified clusters are characterised by Yugonostalgia: group members behave in similar ways to all contemporary tourists with varying individual interests, which is an additional interesting finding.