WI: Communist Romania has tried even harder to resurrect its "Dracula" and "Land of the Undead" image for Tourism purposes?

[baltur2]

In OTL, the leader of Communist Romania, Nicolae Ceaușescu has promoted Romania as a land of vampires, zombies, and magic in Western media to attract Western tourists for hard currency. For example, during the late 80s, Nintendo organized a contest based around its "Castlevania" game for a lucky tourist to win a trip to Romania and visit historical sites dealing with the local vampire legend and Vlad Tepes, but this was called off by 1989 because of the political turmoils in the country.

But what if such efforts have been around perhaps even in the 70s when Romania was more stable, but Western horror movies with a Dracula-theme were already around?

Would tours like this have been a positive effect on Communist Romania's economy?

 

[Black]

In OTL, the leader of Communist Romania, Nicolae Ceaușescu has promoted Romania as a land of vampires, zombies, and magic in Western media to attract Western tourists for hard currency. For example, during the late 80s, Nintendo organized a contest based around its "Castlevania" game for a lucky tourist to win a trip to Romania and visit historical sites dealing with the local vampire legend and Vlad Tepes, but this was called off by 1989 because of the political turmoils in the country.

But what if such efforts have been around perhaps even in the 70s when Romania was more stable, but Western horror movies with a Dracula-theme were already around?

Would tours like this have been a positive effect on Communist Romania's economy?

It would helped the economy by quickening the collapse of the communist government by bringing in capitalism.

 

[overoceans]

As a comparison, I believe Salem Mass. promotes itself for the whole witch-trial thing, with a few museums and a big halloween festival etc. But I doubt they attract that many international or even elsewhere-in-America tourists, probably just people from the area or those who were already visiting for some other reason.

Granted, "Dracula" as a phenomenon is bigger than the witch-trials, but still, I'm not sure how many people would go to Romania just for the purpose of seeing the home of a fictional character. Maybe people who were passing through Eastern Europe to begin with.

 

[Duke Andrew of Dank]

Shouldn't this be in the ASB thread?

 

[Dolan]

Shouldn't this be in the ASB thread?

If this was ASB, I'll think all we need is Dracula getting bored of Communist incompetence and led undead-backed coup against Ceausescu and even repelled the later Soviet invasion.

Then Dracula make a pact with humans, that Democracy and human self-rule would return in Romania, just with small exchange of animal sacrifices to him and any flavor of Abrahamic Religions being completely banned in Romania, where Paganism and Dracula's own version of Satanism being promoted.

 

[Duke Andrew of Dank]

If this was ASB, I'll think all we need is Dracula getting bored of Communist incompetence and led undead-backed coup against Ceausescu and even repelled the later Soviet invasion.

Then Dracula make a pact with humans, that Democracy and human self-rule would return in Romania, just with small exchange of animal sacrifices to him and any flavor of Abrahamic Religions being completely banned in Romania, where Paganism and Dracula's own version of Satanism being promoted.

Never mind, this was before I really understood the description of the idea.