Traditional music in tourists’ eyes – the case of Slovene Istria

Abstract

ABSTRACT The article deals with a modestly researched topic about the attitude of the general tourist population towards the traditional music of the destination. The concept of traditionalism itself is complex, and there are no clear objective criteria for what is and what is not ‘traditional.’ Tourism brings additional dynamics to the local community in the process of (re)defining its tradition. Although traditional music is an important element of the intangible cultural heritage of any destination, there is relatively little research on the perception, understanding and attitudes of the general tourist population towards traditional music. We believe that the misunderstanding of tourists’ wishes, expectations and knowledge of traditional music is at least partly the cause of inappropriate representations of traditional music in tourism. By conducting a survey in the case of Slovenian Istria, a destination with a markedly untapped potential of traditional music, we investigated the factors determining it and its importance in the eyes of tourists. We also studied the differences between tourist segments. The chosen geographical area is highly multicultural and has had a turbulent political and migrant history, which makes it specific and at the same time very suitable for the purpose of the research.