Cemeteries as tourist attraction

Abstract

Tourism is the fastest growing phenomena, but not only from the economic point of view - all its aspects are changing fast in the permanent attempt to offer new experiences, create new travel motivators and reach new markets. That endeavour results in new tourist programmes which only few years ago were unthinkable. Those new ideas are actually the response to the clients' increasing request for new emotions and knowledge in search for weird, unusual and unique memories. Among many different possibilities, certain destinations recently organize the visit to cemeteries for groups or individuals with specific interests, and some even include it in the regular sightseeing. The analysis also shows that not all visits to cemeteries are for the identical reasons, that the motives can be classified and that such programmes represent added value to promotion of selected destinations. This paper deals with various types of cemetery visits, participants' profile in such tours and concludes with the recommendation for organization based on worldwide examples and experiences. Researching methodology involved analysis, synthesis, description and comparison.