Industrial Tourism Attractions. The Case of Salt Mines in Romania

Mines (Salt and Gold) and Infrastructure Underground Built Heritage Survey: Romania, Contribution to the COST Action

“…Occasionally, the industrial underground heritage could have a special historical significance for the country (like Roșia Montană) and its restoration should be prevalent (Merciu et al 2021). In other cases, the abandoned mines which comply with specific conditions could also count as industrial heritage (Sorcaru, 2021) and regain their economic importance by being transformed into storage facilities for hazardous waste disposal.…”

Industrial Heritage as a Tourist Attraction. Case Study Unirea Salt Mine (Romania)

“…The Unirea salt mine was included in the tourist circuit during the communist period starting in the 1970s. Although a large part of the visitors opt for the Slănic Prahova Saline as a treatment space [18], in recent years the tourist demand presents a variety of motivations: for recreation, sports activities within the saline, industrial tourism (Figure 2). The motivation of tourists to visit the saline as an industrial heritage attraction was manifested in recent years when several exhibits were brought regarding the exploitation of salt in the Unirea mine (industrial machines, carts for transporting salt from underground to the surface, images that highlight the multiple methods used for salt exploitation) (Figure 2).…”

“…Within it, the salt mines represent a significant category of underground industrial heritage, which have become attractive tourist destinations in the post-industrial period [14], [15], [16]. Romania has a valuable industrial heritage, the salt mines being tourist destinations that record an increase in tourist flows in recent decades [17], [18]. The purpose of this study is to analyze the tourist attraction of the former Unirea salt mine in Slănic Prahova, Romania, as an element of industrial heritage.…”