Dark tourism (also Thana tourism (as in Thanatos), black tourism, morbid tourism, or grief tourism) has been defined as tourism involving travel to places historically associated with death and tragedy.
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Experts call the phenomenon dark tourism, and they say it has a long tradition. Dark tourism refers to visiting places where some of the darkest events of human history have unfolded. That can include genocide, assassination, incarceration, ethnic cleansing, war or disaster — either natural or accidental.
The consensus between the literature researchers is that dark tourism has a typology depending on the visitors' motivations and sites, namely War/Battlefield Tourism, Disaster Tourism, Prison Tourism, Cemetery Tourism, Ghost Tourism, and Holocaust Tourism.
Dark Tourism comes from the practice of Thanatourim (Death Tourism) and transitioned over time to follow the guideline of Dark Tourism. The connection to the aspect of the sacred can also be seen in Thanatourism where the sacred was a religious sacred, connected to the pilgrimage locations throughout Europe.
Defined as travelling to places that are environmentally threatened in order to witness them before it's “too late” and they're gone, doom tourism stretches over the globe, from Antarctica to the melting glaciers in Patagonia, from the Great Barrier Reef to the ever-heating Death Valley in the US.
Types of tourismThere are three basic forms of tourism: domestic tourism, inbound tourism, and outbound tourism. Domestic tourism refers to activities of a visitor within their country of residence and outside of their home (e.g. a Brit visiting other parts of Britain).
Dark tourism can be educational and help people understand and appreciate history. Dark tourism can also be seen as exploitative and disrespectful to the victims and their families.
“It depends,” says Granato. Generally, she finds that most archaeologists, academics, and museum curators think that the default answer is “yes, it is ethical” and may possibly question it later. “But I think the default answer should change to 'no'—with the caveat that sometimes it is ethical.”
While the tourist motivations to visit sites of a sensitive nature may be diverse, dark tourism remains a morally relevant issue that involves a questioning of moral judgment (Rojek,1997; Stone, 2009). It has always raised issues of how morality is collectively conveyed and individually constructed.
Cohen (1972), a sociologist of tourism, classifies tourists into four types, based on the degree to which they seek familiarity and novelty: the drifter, the explorer, the individual mass tourist, and the organized mass tourist.
Psychocentric tourists are self-inhibiting, ner-vous, and non-adventurous; they often refuse to. ? travel by air for psychological reasons rather. than financial or other practical concerns. In com- parison, allocentric tourists are outgoing, self- confident, and adventurous.