The potential of transformative tourism for the participants of the European Capital of Culture project – the case of Kosice

Abstract

The study aims to explore an avenue that former European Capitals of Culture can choose to develop long-term sustainable tourism. The topicality lies in the fact that Veszprém-Balaton obtained the title for the year of 2023, as well as in the fact that the coronavirus and the war have shown the vulnerability of tourism. Furthermore, after the year-long festivities many former European Capitals of Culture cannot keep up the momentum and new facilities suffer from overcapacity. This study builds on three pillars. The first pillar is to explore the theoretical background of the topic in a multidisciplinary way, the second introduces the European Union project involving six former European Capitals of Culture that try to find a long-term successful tourism model using the principles of transformative tourism. The third pillar is an exploratory case study of Kosice. The research uses document analysis, media analysis and interview data sampling methods.