Dark Tourism, What Is It?

I was scrolling through my emails today when i came across a travel weekly article with the main article talking about something called dark tourism.  Personally i haven’t a clue what dark tourism is, so i turned to Wikipedia for a definition.

Wikipedia defines dark tourism as; Dark tourism (also black tourism or grief tourism) is tourism involving travel to sites associated with death and tragedy.

Some examples examples of dark tourism include: Ground zero in New York, Katrina’s destructive force in New Orleans, the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, the ruins of Pompeii,  and the Killing Fields in Cambodia along with numerous other sites. Other smaller sites categorized in this subject might include locations fought in the revolutionary war or civil war where people trying to learn about their heritage and ancestry might come to tour. It’s kind of a broad category delve into.

taking a direct quote from travel weekly they say, “witnessing places where horrific deaths have occurred has for many become an integral part of experiencing a destination.”

In the article they say the Concordia could be the next attraction, since it somewhat resembles the titanic and its 100th anniversary, but since they don’t know if it will stay there, so the popularity of the attraction is just speculation.

In the article they say that there is a lot of good that could come out of these kinds of tourist. “Keeping in mind the sensitivity this type of tourism requires, Prohaska and others in the travel industry believe that dark tourism can and should be executed respectfully, educationally and in a way that can benefit the victim communities.  Prohaska noted that disaster tourism also raises awareness and often leads directly to visitors wanting to be part of the solution, helping with cleanup and recovery efforts.”

for the full travel weekly article click here

for the Wikipedia article click here

in my search i found this to be a great site on the subject http://prezi.com/pokr-ckfec1_/dark-heritage-dark-tourism/

WE ARE YOUR TRAVEL EXPERTS—-Call Five Star Travel & Cruises Today!!
636-978-5510       or Toll Free             1-888-665-7827      .
You can also contact us at info@5startravelandcruises.com or
Visit us online a http://www.5startravelandcruises.com                                            Become a fan on facebook http://www.facebook.com/5startravelStL                                                                                                                              Follow us on twitter @utravelwithus