What Does “Dark Tourism” Mean?

Dark tourism, also known as thanatourism, black tourism, morbid tourism, or grief tourism, is a form of travel that involves visiting places historically associated with death and tragedy. It is a culturally nuanced concept that can mediate our sense of mortality through the fatality of others, where the dead act as warnings. Dark tourists are individuals who make a habit of seeking out places that are either tragic, morbid, or even dangerous, whether the destinations are local or as far away as possible.

Dark tourism sites are all associated with tragic history, such as genocide, assassination, incarceration, ethnic cleansing, war, or disaster — either natural or accidental. From the perspective of travelers, dark tourism refers to the act of tourists traveling to sites of death, tragedy, and suffering. Examples of dark tourism include Auschwitz, Ground Zero, and Chernobyl.

Dark tourism is a term enveloping a spectrum of travel experiences centered around sites of historical tragedies, war, disasters, and death. The core essence remains – it’s a form of travel that involves visiting real or recreated places related with death, suffering, disgrace, or the macabre.

Dark tourism, or Thanatourism, is sometimes referred to in academia as “travel to a location wholly or partially, motivated by the desire for actual or symbolic encounters with death”. The concept of dark tourism is culturally nuanced and can mediate our sense of mortality through the fatality of others, where the dead act as warnings.

Who invented dark tourism?

In 1996, Scottish academics J. John Lennon and Malcolm Foley introduced the term “dark tourism” in their seminal work, “Dark Tourism: The Attraction to Death and Disaster: A Theoretical Framework.

What is the aim of dark tourism?

In their book, “Dark Tourism,” Lennon and Foley present a comprehensive examination of the phenomenon of dark tourism. In their book, The Attraction of Death and Disaster, Lennon and Foley introduce the concept of dark tourism, which aims to commemorate and transform tragic or terrifying events in human history into resources for tourism.

Who benefits from dark tourism?

Scholars posit that dark tourism has the potential to yield economic benefits, advance heritage conservation, educate society, and facilitate reconciliation.

How many types of dark tourism are there?

Dark tourism, a type of tourism that involves visiting real or recreated places associated with death, suffering, misfortune, or the seemingly macabre, is not a new concept, even from a touristic point of view. Places of war, disasters, death, and atrocities have always fascinated humans and are subject to visits. People have long been drawn, purposefully or otherwise, towards sites, attractions, or events linked in one way or another with death, suffering, violence, or disaster.

The concept of dark tourism has been designed and studied for the last years, and many are the destinations around the world where it has been implemented, playing an important role in both a country’s economy and its image. However, there is a gap in literature about this specific type of tourism.

This paper presents a literature review about dark tourism, focusing on its definitions, history, evolution, and typologies. It aims to present some dark tourism definitions, history, and evolution, as well as to introduce its typologies and identify the most important dark tourist sites all over the world.

Several studies have explored dark tourism, such as Seabra et al., Wight AC, Lennon & Foley, Stone P, Lennon & Foley, Stone P, Sharpley R, Dann G, Sharpley R, Stone P, Seaton AA, Rojek C, Blom T, Blom T, Seaton A, Smith VL, Rucinska D, Lechowicz M, Smith VL, Dunkley R, Morgan N, Westwood S, Abranja A, Queiroz J, Davies O, Strange C, Kempa M, Lemer A, Inglis D, Holmes M, Highland and other haunts: ghosts in Scottish tourism, Gentry G, Fonseca A, Silva C, Becker E, Thomas TR, Schwarz N, and Farmaki A.

Dark tourism has been a significant part of the tourism industry, playing an important role in both a country’s economy and its image. It has been designed and studied for the last years, and many destinations around the world have implemented it, playing an important role in both a country’s economy and its image.

Why do people dark tourism?

Dark tourism is driven by an attraction to forbidden activities, creating a sense of excitement similar to skydiving or bungee jumping. Bitran, along with Professor Thomas Doughton, leads a study-abroad trip to Holocaust sites in Central Europe every summer. They advise against offering too much information, as it can create a sense of being in a museum and potentially encourage disrespectful behavior. They suggest that a lot of information can make visitors feel like they are in a staged museum, causing a negative impact on the experience.

What is the theory of dark tourism?

The study explores the emotional and behavioral responses of residents of Varosha during their visits to a dark tourism destination in Famagusta, North Cyprus. A qualitative research design was employed, involving interviews with a select group of residents and a semi-structured questionnaire for data collection. A grounded theory approach was used to propose a framework that delineates four sequential stages: background emotions, pre-visit emotions, emotions experienced during the visit, and subsequent behavioral outcomes. External factors prevalent within society were also identified that influence the emotional and behavioral outcomes of the residents.

Dark tourism, also known as morbid tourism, black spot tourism, thana tourism, tragic tourism, trauma tourism, grief tourism, fright tourism, death tourism, and atrocity tourism, is an emerging brand in tourism research. This study aims to conduct a systematic review of the literature on dark tourism, summarizing multiple studies under one paper and identifying the latest trends that have influenced it. The results demonstrate the latest trends and continuous growth in dark tourism, including influential journals, authors, affiliations, countries, and co-cited authors.

TCCM was used to understand the theories, contexts, characteristics, and methodologies studied till the present year, helping to develop a future research agenda. The study also identified areas that are still in the nascent stage and require attention in future research, such as investigating the multidisciplinary character of dark tourism, the commonalities and dissimilarities between different types of dark tourist destinations, and analyzing bibliographic profiles of websites related to genocide tourism, catastrophe tourism, and war-related tourism.

What is dark travel?

Dark tourism, also known as thanatourism, black tourism, morbid tourism, or grief tourism, is a form of tourism that involves visiting places historically associated with death and tragedy. The main attraction to dark locations is their historical value, rather than their associations with death and suffering. Holocaust tourism combines aspects of both dark tourism and heritage tourism. While there is a long tradition of people visiting recent and ancient settings of death, such as gladiator games in the Roman colosseum, attending public executions by decapitation, and visiting catacombs, this practice has been studied academically only relatively recently.

Travel writers were the first to describe their tourism to deadly places, with P. J. O’Rourke calling his travel to Warsaw, Managua, and Belfast in 1988 “holidays in hell” and Chris Rojek discussing “black-spot tourism” in 1993. Academic attention to the subject originated in Glasgow, Scotland, with the term “dark tourism” coined in 1996 by Lennon and Foley and “thanatourism” first mentioned by A. V. Seaton in 1996.

Is dark tourism good or bad?

The practice of dark tourism has the potential to be a beneficial experience for travelers, as it offers them the opportunity to engage with the more somber aspects of history. This can facilitate personal growth and foster a more nuanced comprehension and appreciation for one’s place of origin.

What is dark travel?

Dark tourism, first introduced in 1996 by John Lennon and Malcolm Foley, refers to tourism to sites of mass tragedy and death. It has various names, including Thanatourism, grief tourism, morbid tourism, nuclear tourism, war tourism, and slum tourism. The term is broadened to include abandoned places, ghost towns, ghost stories, cemeteries, sites of revolt, and prisons. However, it is essential to view these sites from an educational and historical perspective to fully appreciate their significance.

What is dark tourism in simple words?

Dark tourism refers to visiting places where some of the darkest events of human history have occurred, such as genocide, assassination, incarceration, ethnic cleansing, war, or disaster. This style of travel has gained prominence, particularly with the debut of Netflix’s “Dark Tourist” a few years ago. Climate-related disasters and political unrest are creating more sites of tragedy, some of which are being used for economic gain.

This has raised ethical questions, with some believing it is inherently disrespectful, while others support it, claiming it provides funds for rebuilding and aid. Subscribe to The Week for a wide range of perspectives from 200 trusted news sources.