Dark Tourism Case Study including Trends, Motivations, Marketing Strategies, Opportunities and Challenges

Dark Tourism Case Study including Trends, Motivations, Marketing Strategies, Opportunities and Challenges

Summary

This case study looks at the increasing interest behind the niche tourism segment of dark tourism. It discusses the concept of dark tourism, motivations behind dark tourism, dark tourism in the media and the role of travel industry players and tourism bodies. The case study also discusses the dark side of dark tourism and the negative impacts it may have as well as the potential benefits associated with dark tourism. Finally, this case study looks at types of dark destinations and explores key destinations around the world.

Key Highlights

• Dark tourism may be identified as visitations to places where tragedies or historically noteworthy death has occurred and that continue to impact our lives. These sites range from actual locations of dark events to off-site locales that are in someway connected to such an event, such as Holocaust museums. The latter often houses related artifacts and survivor stories that are directly connected to the event.
• Dark tourism sites exist on a spectrum of intensity, whereby particular sites may be conceivably ‘darker’ than others, dependent upon various defining characteristics, perceptions and attraction features.
• Coinciding with the increasing popularity of dark tourist sites, academics, tourists, tour operators and community residents of many destinations are presented with dilemmas concerning the ethics of modern-day dark tourism and questions concerning the legitimacy of the often-cited educational aspect of such attractions. Dark tourism can appear to be more sinister, with some reports labelling dark tourism as ‘macabre voyeurism’ at times.
• The media can be considered as responsible in part for the rise of dark tourism as spectacle. Dark tourism has garnered increasing interested owing to today’s media-rich society, through which information and inspiration found in the media and online has the power to persuade tourists to see historical sites in person.
• Research reveals that tourists visit dark tourism destinations for a wide variety of reasons. For example, curiosity, desire for education and learning about what happened at the site, interest in history or death, remembrance and connecting with one's personal or family heritage.
• Travel intermediaries play an integral role in the popularity, accessibility and supply of dark tourism products. Those interested in dark tourism attractions are able to easily research the destinations and book relevant transport, accommodation and activities.

• This case study looks at the increasing interest behind the niche tourism segment of dark tourism. It discusses the concept of dark tourism, motivations behind dark tourism, dark tourism in the media and the role of travel industry players and tourism bodies. The case study also discusses the dark side of dark tourism and the negative impacts it may have as well as the potential benefits associated with dark tourism. Finally, this case study looks at types of dark destinations and explores key destinations around the world.

• Gain an understanding of dark tourism.
• Recognise the range of the potential negatives and associated benefits of dark tourism.
• Gain an understanding of dark tourism motivations.
• Gain an understanding of the role of the media, travel industry players and tourism bodies.