A cultural route for Ottoman heritage in Europe: opportunities and challenges from the perspectives of students

ABSTRACT

This article examines attitudes toward the development of a cultural route based on Ottoman heritage in Europe among university students from Bulgaria, Serbia, North Macedonia, Croatia, and Hungary. The online survey results outline the basic preconditions and potential obstacles to the development of such a cultural route, with the lack of public support in most countries identified as one of the major problems. The general conclusion is that both the attractiveness of the route’s content and public support can increase if the thematic focus is set on cultural interactions between different nations rather than on ‘pure’ Ottoman heritage and Islamic religion. This can lead to greater public acceptance and increased interest among stakeholders at the local, national, and international levels, and create the conditions for effective functionality and long-term sustainability of the route.

KEYWORDS:

• Ottoman heritage
• contested heritage
• perceptions
• cultural interactions
• tourism

Acknowledgements

The authors express honest gratitude to the members of the informal Sultans Trail Academic Network for their continuous support. Special thanks go to Max Smits and Rene van der Duim for their valuable contribution to the survey development, as well as to all colleagues and friends who helped distribute the survey among various students in all five countries.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Aleksandra Terzić

Aleksandra TERZIĆ is Senior Research Associate at the Geographical Institute “Jovan Cvijić” SASA, Serbia. She holds a PhD in Geosciences (Tourism) with expertise in social geography, tourism, cultural studies and sustainable development. Since 2009 she has been engaged in several scientific and development projects, participated and attended various scientific conferences, and published over 90 articles and one book.

Elka Dogramadjieva

Elka DOGRAMADJIEVA is Associate Professor at the Geography of Tourism Department, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, Bulgaria. She holds a PhD in Tourism Geography and teaches courses in Methods of Tourism Research, Tourism Resources, and Current Tourism Development Issues. Her primary research interests include regional tourism studies, sustainable tourism development, and specialized types of tourism.