Dark tourism in the Philippine context: Indicators, motivations, and spectrum

Abstract

Dark tourism or thanatourism is an emerging area of study in the Philippines. Accordingly, it involves visiting places associated with death and suffering. This study explored the dark tourism indicators and tourist motivations which were used as basis for the creation of the Philippine dark tourism spectrum. The different perspectives of dark tourism or thanatourism were examined to provide a better and deeper understanding of its nature as a form of tourism. In addition, attractions considered as dark in selected cities in Metro Manila were evaluated and identified to have a clear representation of the attributes of dark tourism attached in a particular site or destination. Using an exploratory-qualitative design, structured interviews, FGDs, observations, literature review, and photo elicitation have been conducted to gather pertinent data. Participants in the KII include historians, Department of Tourism (DOT) Officers, church leaders, and tourists; while in the FGDs were DOT accredited guides and tourism faculty members from different colleges and universities in Metro Manila. Content analysis was used in analyzing the data. The findings revealed that history, authenticity, storytelling, and experience are the indicators of dark tourism sites. Moreover, the identified dark sites are Chinese Cemetery, Intramuros, Libingan ng mga Bayani, Luneta Park, and Paco Park and Cemetery. These attractions are visited for educational purposes, remembrance, sightseeing, recreation, family bonding, curiosity, and event venue. The study contributed to the existing knowledge of thanatourism and dark tourism in the Philippines by identifying the indicators and tourist motivations that are very useful in destination planning and management, as well as marketing and promotion. Likewise, the created Philippine dark tourism spectrum provided a deeper perspective and understanding of the nature of dark tourism, which can be utilized by the tourism stakeholders and the academe in evaluating and classifying dark tourism sites in the country.