The use of history in dracula tourism in romania

Abstract

Dracula tourism in Romania combines fiction with history. It is centred on either the fictional Western vampire Count Dracula or the historical Dracula, the fifteenth-century Romanian ruler Vlad the Impaler. These two characters are also often conflated, or sometimes even forged together, into one Dracula figure in Dracula tourism. Besides the history concerning the ruler, Vlad the Impaler, through Dracula tourism the guides and travel agencies also tend to offer much more history and tradition of Romania in their tours. In this article I will examine what kind of history is told and what is left out. I am especially interested in the history and tradition (as it is manipulated) that is not connected to Vlad or Dracula. I look at the types and eras of history used and emphasised in Dracula tourism in Romania, and the reasons for the choices. I am also interested in the idea of how the seemingly superficial and fictitious Dracula tourism can be used as a gateway into Romanian history and culture.