Paper short abstract:

Vacations 'at home', as well as the so called 'electoral' tourism in the country of origin of the Bulgarian-born Turks, settlers in Turkey, are discussed in regard with the processes of social adaptation and the public images of this group of immigrants in both the Bulgarian and Turkish societies.

Paper long abstract:

The paper describes some of the most wide-spread leisure practices among Bulgarian-born Turks, settlers in Turkey. These include various forms of vacations in the settlement of origin, as well as the country of origin. Special attention is given to the so-called electoral tourists: migrants who return massively to their home places when various kinds of elections - for local governments, parliamentary or presidential - take place in Bulgaria. The phenomenon is very typical for this particular group of immigrants and is the issue of heated public debates in the country of origin, regarding their political and national loyalties and identities. The paper seeks to describe this type of 'tourism', as well as other popular leisure practices oriented to the country of origin in their complexity. The relationship will be sought between the outlined leisure activities and 1) the economic and social integration of these first-generation migrants in the receiving Turkish society; 2) the emergence and sustainability of their public image among the wider public in both the receiving and sending societies.