Dark Tourism
Dark tourism, also known as black or grief tourism, is defined as tourism involving places historically associated with death or tragedy. The main attraction to dark tourism is the historical value, rather than their association with the death and suffering that happened at that specific location (Paris, 2016).
The United States is home to many dark tourism spots that thousands of people travel to every day. Some of these spots include Ground Zero in New York, Alcatraz, Pearl Harbor Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery and the Dealy Plaza where JFK was shot. Just like the U.S, many other countries have these locations where tragedy's happen. Similar to the United States, thousands of people travel there just to be a part of history.
Rachel Smith, Tourism Professor
Do you think dark tourism is a good or bad thing?
"I think that dark tourism is a good thing because it ties in with historical tourism. Although they are coming to a spot where a tragedy happened, they are learning more about what happened at that location."
How many dark tourism spots have you visited?
"I have visited over 100 dark tourism spots in the United States. My family and I are very into visiting historical sights. Some of these sights include Lincoln Memorials, the location where Kennedy was shot and Al Copone."
Does dark tourism have a negative effect on the locals or the environment?
"In some cases it can... People can deviate from what really happened at those locations. Some people may even quit their day jobs to give people tours on the side. It can also be a good thing because at least people are coming to the area. For example, a bombing could have taken out the land and left it useless space. Now people can actually visit that piece of land, rather than it sitting there abandoned."
Why do people travel to these locations?
All over the world, people want to visit these sights for a variety of reasons. According to The Telegraph, “the emotional impact of such sites is not culturally straightforward, it is about more than creating reflective memories for the visitor"(Paris, 2016). People want to visit these sights to reflect on what happened in those specific locations. Tourists want to be apart of the history that happened there, although they are linked to large tragedies. Another reason that people travel to these locations is to learn more about what happened there. For example, although most people know what happened at Pearl Harbor, they will want to travel there to learn more facts about this location. By visiting these places, people get to see first hand what happened and what these people went through. They also get to pay their respects to those who lost their lives during the tragedy. Dark tourism documentaries are also a major trend in todays day. People watch these films, just as they would visit the location to see what really happened and what people went through. In my opinion, I find that learning about the 9/11 memorial is very interesting. I enjoy watching documentaries on what happened on this tragic day. These documentaries inform me of something new every time I watch one. Personally, I would love to visit Ground Zero one day to pay my respects to the fallen people. I have spent a lot of time watching documentaries about this day, so it would be very interesting to see it first hand. Overall, there are many reason why people may visit these locations. It is their personal preference on why they would like to visit there. Some of these reasons include being apart of history, finding out more information about the location and paying their respects to those who have fallen.
Why is it important for Recreation Professionals to know?
Dark tourism has always been a major trend in the world. Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more popular because more of these tragedies are happening on a regular basis. This trend is good for professionals in the recreation field to be familiar with for many reasons. I interviewed Rachel Smith, who is a traveler herself and teaches tourism at Illinois State University. It would be beneficial for her to know as a traveler because these dark tourism locations are becoming more popular. As a traveler, it is good to be aware because these locations could expierience over-tourism or over-crowding due to the amount of people visiting. It is also beneficial to know because some of these locations cost money and you must reserve a spot. If you are itching to go but can't due to these simple mistakes, it would be devastating to the travelers. Another recreation professionals that would be beneficial to know of this current trend are the people promoting travelers, such as travel agents. These particular people are the ones who may be promoting these locations. They must be aware that it could be a touchy subject, but also try and convince people why these locations are a good place to travel, even though large tragedies occurred here. If these areas aren't visited, the history could potentially fade away, along with the site. Finally, it is good for professors in the recreation field to be aware of this trend, especially if they are teaching tourism classes, such as Rachel Smith. In my own experience, I am currently taking KNR 351, a tourism and special events class. We focused a great amount on this trend and why it is important in the recreation field. As rec professionals, it is our job to preserve these locations and make sure that people are treating them properly. As professionals, we don't want tourists coming to these locations and making jokes about what really happened there. Thousands of people have died across these dark tourism locations. We want to make sure that tourists are being respectful so that these locations can continue having visitors all across the world. I believe that this is the most important reason for recreation professionals to be aware of on this current trend. Honoring those who lost their lives on these tragic days is extremely important. Professors in the field can encourage their students to go out into the field and educate people on dark tourism. After taking KNR 351 and being someone who is interested in tourism, I believe that I am now capable of this job and can now realize why dark tourism is such an important trend in recreation.
Studies done on dark tourism
Over the past years, there have been many studies done on dark tourism. Some of the questions included in these studies are what they believe dark tourism is, where people have traveled and their motivation to travel to these locations. A recent study has been completed at Klaipeda State College, focusing on the dark tourism spot in Lithuania (Brackute, Daukantaite, 2015). In this study, the respondents were asked multiple questions about dark tourism. Only 31% of the respondents that took the survey said that they were familiar with dark tourism. Although this study was not done in our home country, this result shows that majority of people are not aware of what this current trend is. This result also shows us that as recreation professionals, we need to improve our education of this trend so that people are more informed. Even though most people in this study were not aware of this trend, 79% said that they would be interested in traveling to a dark tourism location, while 21% said that they were not interested in visiting these kinds of locations. The next question that was asked was why they might visit these locations. 23% stated "so I could understand my heritage of my country and what happened in the past." 28% stated that they would go so they could believe it actually happened and feel the events by heart. 7% of respondents wanted to gain the emotional expierience. 6% of people stated that they were interested in anything that has to do with death, war, guns, etc. (Bracckute, Daukantatite, 2015). Reading the results of the survey was very interesting. It was cool to see why other people want to travel to these locations since I am also intrigued by this tourism trend. I believe that these results show us that we need to educate people more about this topic.
How we can educate tourists on this trend
There are numerous ways that we can educate people more on this trend. Informing young professionals, especially those interested in tourism, is crucial. Educating the younger generations is a great way to start because they are soon going to be the professionals in our field. I completed a study on my own and 6/10 people I asked were not aware of what dark tourism was. Even if we simply inform people of what this trend is, they can study it on their own and learn why it is not only important to the people, but also the environment. Informing students in the classroom is also a great way to educate people. The classroom setting is a great place to inform people on this trend and why its important in tourism. Another way to inform people who are not studying this field, is to have signs outside of dark tourist locations on how to preserve the locations will inform the actual tourists. These signs may include not touching things, being respectful, having information, etc. Providing these to tourists will remind them of the significance of the locations that they are visiting. It can also remind them that thousands of people died in this location, and to keep in mind that family members and friends may be there at the same time they are visiting. Teaching tourists to the history of the location and to be respectful of the area is the main thing that should be informed. If we can relay this message onto the people visiting, they perhaps will keep these thoughts in their mind when they visit different dark tourism spots across the world.