Bezoek aan Boekarest. Reconstructing Bucharest through the virtual footprints of Dutch speaking tourists

Abstract

Since the integration i?n the European Union, the number of Dutch and Belgium tourists visiting Romania increased steadily. Based on the data from the Romanian National Institute of Statistics, i?n 2014 roughly 78000 tourist from the Netherlands and 55000 tourists from Belgium visited Romania. Some of them wrote online about their travel experiences. Their stories are important because reviews and comments from former tourists can have a decisive influence on the decision of prospective tourists to visit or to not visit that specific destination. Through a qualitative research approach I take a look at some of these Dutch language website and blog entries of tourists who visited Bucharest. I?n this article the perspective of the Dutch speaking tourist is central to the process of reconstructing Bucharest through its online projection. The following questions are addressed i?n the article: What does Bucharest look like when reconstructed based on the comments written and on the pictures uploaded online by Dutch speaking tourists?; Is the city seen mainly through its architecture, its people, its green spaces, its clubs & cafe’s or its food?; What adjectives do Dutch speaking tourists use i?n their online texts when describing Bucharest?; Are there signs of perceived otherness i?n the online discourse of Dutch speaking tourist talking about Bucharest?