THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA IN PROMOTING THE ATTRACTIONS OF DARK TOURISM AS A SELECTIVE FORM OF TOURISM

The main hypothesis of this paper is that the act of execution of noble fighters and people during the Slaughter of the Knezes, which took place in the former Sanjak of Smederevo in 1804, poses great potential for the development of dark tourism with the key role played by the media. The theoretical framework is based on the works of authors Malcolm Foley and John Lennon (1996) for places associated with suffering and death, as well as those of Stephanie Marie Yuill (2003) for their educational function in the development of dark tourism. On the other hand, the media may influence the decision making process regarding tourist destination selections through the agenda-setting theory. The proposed solution is that the Tourism Organisation Valjevo should, as a new source of news, assert itself to the media by strategically approaching the communication segment. This tourist attraction would become more noticeable in this way and the media would generate income and make up for the departure of advertisers to the advantage of both sides.