151 Re-imag(in)ing place: From Czechoslovakia to the Czech Republic and Slovakia Can-Seng Ooi Can-Seng Ooi Can-Seng Ooi Can-Seng Ooi Can-Seng Ooi Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark Tourism offers an arena through which a place identity is imagined, imaged, negotiated and contained. This paper compares the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and shows how these countries construct and assert their identities through tourism. Although they both share a common history as Czechoslovakia they are perceived differently by the outside world. These former Eastern Bloc countries are promoting themselves in several ways and they are also marginalising their socialist past and invoking their Central European identity. The Czech and Slovak search for destination identity takes into account tourists’ demands and perceptions. This paper introduces the concept of the orientalist tourist gaze and demonstrates how orientalism may manifest in tourism. Data on how these two countries are imagined were collected in Denmark. Keywords: destination identity; host society-guest interaction; impact of tourism; orientalism SUMMARY INTRODUCTION The concept of identity has been subjected to debates in the social sciences for many years. The debates re- main relevant today because the search, invention and presentation of identities are still prevalent. Social enti- ties, ranging from individuals to countries accrue identi- ties today. For instance, countries, cities and towns are branding themselves (Morgan, Pritchard and Pride 2002). Tatjana Pejić Kristensen Tatjana Pejić Kristensen Tatjana Pejić Kristensen Tatjana Pejić Kristensen Tatjana Pejić Kristensen Copenhagen Business School, Frederiksberg, Denmark Preliminary communications Vol. 52, No. 2/ 2004/ 151-163 UDC 338.48:[(437.1/.2)+(437.6) Their brand identities are seductively constructed, high- lighting the place’s historical significance, cultural uniqueness, natural beauty, technological achieve- ments, etc. An identity is normally assumed as unique, fixed, solid and stable (Anderson 1991; Kellner 1992; Morgan et al . 2002, Schein 1996). However, many scho- lars and researchers (Bauman 1996; Giddens 1991; Hall 1996; Lash 1990) have shown that identities are Zdenka Lomanová Pedersen Zdenka Lomanová Pedersen Zdenka Lomanová Pedersen Zdenka Lomanová Pedersen Zdenka Lomanová Pedersen Copy-Dan Billedkunst, Copenhagen, Denmark