Do We Want to Be Involved? Tourism Promotion and the Industrial Heritage of Germans in Vojvodina

Abstract

Local community members are considered as one of key stakeholder groups for sustainable tourism development, not only as service providers, but also as an important part of a decision-making process in tourism development. In respect to that, this study was fo-cused on their perceptions of potential tourism activities based on resources that are still not valued for the purpose of tourism. There is a question whether the local community members want to be involved and whether they perceive the industrial heritage as beneficial for the local development. The research was conducted on the example of the industrial heritage in Vojvodina (Autonomous Province in Serbia, former part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), characterized by its historical, cultural, technical, architectural, and educational values of the industrial heritage of Germans as a national minority. The survey research based on the 44-item SUS TAS scale was conducted on a sample of 300 respondents, between October 2021 and March 2022. The main findings highlight the positive attitudes of the local community members on sustainable development of the industrial heritage, but also their insufficient knowledge of values in terms of German industrial legacy within their local environment. The research results may contribute to experts in the field of tourism and culture for domestic and international tourism development.