ABSTRACT

This paper analyses media discourse on tourism through the theory of ‘Othering’ in Western discourses. By juxtaposing Melania Trump tourism in Slovenia to Dracula tourism in Bulgaria, we reflect on the ‘Othering’ process specifics. As we determined through discourse analysis of Melania hometown Sevnica Western media representations and in-depth interviews with local tourism stakeholders, mediatized tourism presents her home town destination as mostly regressive and underdeveloped. In response, the research shows ambivalent reactions by the local tourism stakeholders who on the one hand try to harness media attention and on the other hand react to what they perceive as skewed representations.