The show must go on(line) - social media marketing during a pandemic: the case of two Dracula themed dark tourism festival

Abstract

The novel “Dracula” written by Bram Stoker has initiated travel to locations described in the book for many decades (Iordanova; Muresan and Smith; Hoppen et al.; Skal; Light). People travel to the locations familiar from the novel and the screen adaptations for many different reasons, but one key motivation is the desire to compare the imagery that exists in their imagination with what they can see in reality (Pocock; O’Connor and Kim). This is also called “landscape comparison” (Podoshen; Reijnders) and falls under the realm of the “tourist gaze” (Urry, J.; Larsen), whereby the landscape the travellers see is mediated through the lens of popular culture. This type of travel forms part of an activity that is known under the term “Dracula tourism” (Reijnders; Muresan and Smith; Iordanova). Dracula tourists choose to visit places that have a connection with Dracula – both the novel and films - or with the author of Dracula. For example, they travel to Transylvania in Romania, Whitby in the UK or Dublin in Ireland.