Spirit of the Space – Challenges of Its Contemporary Use in Cultural Tourism

Richness of Croatian folklore, myths and legends presents resources not yet fully exploited in the development of sustainable cultural tourism. Specific cultura l settings call for interpretation and promotion. Vivid examples of tangible heritage as well as the poetics of rarely promoted or interpreted customs, traditions, myths or legends are by no doubt in the scope of tourists' interests; attractive, undiscovered but also vulnerable for use. Immersion in a new spiritual, not just material world than one's own, presents a tempting challenge. Spheres of interpretation, promotion and use of such heritage in tourism have to be investigated and defined. The authors give their best to do so. Risks from tourism use have to be predicted and prevented. How can traditions be presented to contemporary tourists who are trying to experience the spirit of the space, is the theme which is being dealt with through several examples: 1) legend of kissing the amorphous stones called "babas" especially since a living tradition is still spun around them, and they are not only the remains of the materia l culture, but can reveal some features from the spiritual or even social life of earlier periods in regions we deal with; 2) procession of brotherhood "Kapari" in Vrbnik on the island of Krk. Collecting the myths, stories, legends loses its value if the meaning is not transferred and circulated through the contemporary society, whether it be the local community or the community of visitors. Interpretation of this heritage is not just a means to give sense to a more complex history, but also functions as valuable intermediary between traditions and individual experience in order to get from entertainment to "emotainment", the expression that is coined by the author of this article for the first time. Recycled, transformed, they continue to live in fragmented forms charged with new meanings and serving as inspiration to foreign and "other" communities of visitors, but also bringing new insights to the local community.