Additionally, because there isn't a better/other term for sites generally associated with the macabre, we currently broaden this to include abandoned places & ghost towns, ghost stories, cemeteries, sites of revolt, prisons & anything macabre. There are also many facets of dark tourism, such as nuclear tourism, war tourism or slum tourism (more of these below). Shrines are especially popular in Asian countries. I was caught out by this on my trip there a couple of years ago so my tip is to book ahead! According to Stone (2006), there are seven main types of dark tourism sites. Essentially, dark tourism is the term given to a type of tourism that involves traveling to a site associated with death and tragedy. Some of these sites I have visited before and others I have now added to my bucket list. Auschwitz has been deemed the very epitome of all dark tourism. 5 years go today. Naturally these are two very different ends of the dark tourism spectrum. Whether you are visiting a cemetery, taking part in a zombie race or providing relief after a natural disaster, the opportunities to take part in dark tourism activities are far ranging. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. With its long history and worldwide fame, learning about this festival is simply fascinating! Today, the memorial site is estimated to have welcomed almost 50 million tourists over its time. Over 11 million were domestic tourists, 323,000 were students on school trips, and 1,176,000 were international visitors. Motivations stem from educational purposes, the desire to understand You can find out a bit more about the bone church in this video. Whether you are planning to visit on a holiday, as part of a gap year, to work or to accompany family members who will be working, you will most likely need a visa for China. still a significant level of radiation in the area and the extent of the damage Whilst this is obviously a sad history, many people choose to visit sites such as Auschwitz or Karaganda, Kazakhstan to learn more about the history. Sites of conflict often become dark tourism sites once peace has been restored and a reasonable period of time has passed. site to visit due to the radiation levels still pertinent. We visited during our trip to South Africa and found it very interesting and educational. The intention is for the tourist to have fun and enjoy themselves, rather than to be educated about said historical reference. tragedy? watched the film Pompeii’?, If so then you will know exactly the history behind Chernobyl is a very popular destination for dark tourism, however The history of the hotel industry is a long one. For many people, this is a dominant, if not their main, motivation for being a dark tourist. There are many different types of hotels around the world, which make up an important part of the tourism industry. any kind. The tour guides are mostly ex-inmates, providing the tourist with an authentic account of what the prison was like when it was in operation as well as a much needed source of employment for the staff member. In each episode, David travels to a different dark tourism destination. This is now a dark tourism site which is visited by many tourists each year. I will also discuss the ethics of dark tourism, which are somewhat controversial. We took a day trip from Prague to visit this unusual attraction, which was eerie and fascinating at the same time! What they’d be happy to see and another person wouldn’t go near. Below I have listed a few examples of dark tourism destinations, all of which demonstrate the different types of dark tourism as listed above. I think that Stone has missed out a key type of dark tourism in his list- disaster sites- so I will add this in below. By visiting dark tourism sites, we are able to give ourselves time to reflect on history. Dating back to ancient times, hotels have played a key role in the growth of the tourism industry.