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Controversial heritage: the Valley of the Fallen

María de-Miguel-Molina (Department of Management, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain)
José Luis Barrera-Gabaldón (Department of Management, Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, Valencia, Spain)

International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research

ISSN: 1750-6182

Article publication date: 14 May 2019

Issue publication date: 24 May 2019

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to analyse the concept of dark tourism and apply it to the Valley of the Fallen in Spain, a controversial monument that is a symbol of the Spanish Civil War and the subsequent dictatorship.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the authors carried out a literature review to get an insight into the concept of “dark tourism”, the types of existing dark tourism and the methods that are applied to the main cases around the world. Then, the authors analysed the case through a content analysis of press articles and interviews.

Findings

The authors propose a way to change the current symbolism and connotations of the Valley of the Fallen towards a new symbolism engaging all the stakeholders involved, from a dark tourism point of view.

Research limitations/implications

Applying this new symbolism requires attaining a difficult consensus that Spain has not yet been able to put into practice.

Originality/value

The dark tourism framework is an opportunity to link both economic and educational objectives, co-working on a model of consensus, but there is a gap in the literature on dark tourism in terms of Spain’s history. This strategy could be also applied to other controversial heritage with similar characteristics, according to different positioning classifications.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Universitat Politècnica de València’s Faculty of Business Administration and Management for its proofreading support. Also, they would like to thank the informants for their help to remember our controversial and recent history.

Citation

de-Miguel-Molina, M. and Barrera-Gabaldón, J.L. (2018), "Controversial heritage: the Valley of the Fallen", International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, Vol. 13 No. 1, pp. 128-143. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCTHR-01-2019-0006

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2019, Emerald Publishing Limited

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