Dark Tourism Sites Research Articles

Dark tourism spectrum: Visual expression of dark experience

Dark-light spectrum was used to express the depth of dark experience in dark tourism. Based on embodied cognition theory, this paper examined the visual expression of tourists' dark tourism experience. Five consecutive studies were conducted including analysis of tourists' photos in online reviews of 53 dark tourism destinations worldwide, charcoal pencil painting tasks of selected dark tourism sites in lab experiments, and field experiment. Results showed that tourists with darker experience tend to use deeper visual darkness to express their feelings, in the forms of painting and photographs, even when the cognitive process (i.e., expression in the form of words) is omitted. This psychological mechanism explains the scientific principle behind dark tourism spectrum. Our research suggests a new way of interpretation of tourist image data (e.g., photos) and sheds light for effective management of tourist experience.

Considering dark tourism as an opportunity to reflect on unsettling historical events. English for Tourism university students research on ethical dark tourism sites and tours

English for Tourism (EfT) university courses offer students the opportunities to enhance their English language learning specific skills to be used in the tourism industry. Communicative approach and authentic material contextualized to the professional field are the leading practices in EfT courses. However, not only is EfT a multi-subject field covering geography, history and economics: it may also be considered as a powerful means of meeting, exchange and education at international level. This article is a report of a teaching experience, where EfT course students have been invited to research on international dark tourism sites and to elaborate presentations to be given in class. The dark tourism debated in the class represented for the students a precious educational opportunity to hear about unsung heroes, develop meaningful connections with contemporary socio-economic dynamics and experience tourism, exceptionally, as an ethical act of unearthing pieces of unwritten history.DOI: 10.26905/enjourme.v7i1.7506

A light in the dark – Black consumer motivation in dark tourism

ABSTRACT This article presents a qualitative phenomenological study designed to explore Black consumer behavior, namely motivation to visit a contemporary dark tourism site in urban America. This aspect of Black consumer behavior was examined to fill a gap in the literature regarding what motivates Black people to visit places where death and suffering have famously occurred, especially in contemporary contexts. This project was significant because it better explained an under-represented aspect of dark tourism, namely the Black dark tourism experience which has largely been unaddressed. Theme analysis and multiple in-depth interviews were conducted to execute the study’s phenomenological design. The results of the study suggested that Blacks who partake in dark tourism at sites with contemporary significance to the community are motivated to do so by a desire to share, to pay respects, and to better understand issues currently affecting the community.

Negotiating cultural trauma in tourism

ABSTRACT This study responses to call for an evidentiary frame that incorporates the contested views of cultural trauma in dark tourism sites. Central to this contestation is a failure to break down the victim-perpetrator binary that particularly struggles for truth-seeking transnationally and trans-generationally. This requires a new and critical heritage interpretation, addressing traumatic historical lessons and reaching a reconciliation for future integration and inclusivity. With employment of semi-structure interviews and participant observations, this study of the Memorial Hall of the Victims in Nanjing Massacre by Japanese Invaders illustrates how dark tourism and counter-monuments play a critical role in transforming massacre trauma into commemorative practices. Designing and building new tourism space and artworks as counter-monuments proves to be one significant encoding practice that negotiates more mundane and interactive peacebuilding and reconciliation. Such negotiation contributes to a more meaningful and holistic understanding of cultural trauma, heritage interpretation, memory and identity. Its implications can inspire future research to explore tourism’s transformative potential for remembering, forgetting and healing.

Experiencing human identity at dark tourism sites of natural disasters

Identifying with all humanity is a desirable quality, especially during times of climate change and pandemics. An exploration of human identity remains an under-researched area in tourism studies. This study explores the salience of human identity among visitors in a dark tourism context. Built on self-categorisation theory, this research contributes to the dark tourism literature by highlighting the significance of human identity in the dark tourism context and investigating what underpins the salience of human identity. Data were collected from 196 visitors in situ, across four dark tourism sites of natural disasters, using semi-structured interviews. Although the sites are geographically and culturally different, the study reveals that post natural disaster settings can heighten human identity. The prominence of human identity is underpinned by external stimuli and an understanding of human identity attributes. The results offer valuable and timely insights into the planning and interpretation of post natural disaster sites.

Storytelling in the communication of dark tourism

PurposeThis study aims to tap into the storytelling’s effects of evoking personal and historical memories and their emotions on travelers’ intention to visit dark tourism sites.Design/methodology/approachAn experimental study was performed. The authors created a story centered on dark tourism as their stimulus. The respondents received two stories in the form of printed ads. The presence and absence of a story character manipulated the stimulus. In addition to the experimental factors, four measurement constructs were included in the model: evoked historical memory, evoked personal memory, evoked emotion and intention to visit.FindingsThe results show that evoking historical and personal memories leads to traveler intention to visit the dark tourism sites whether or not the character is present or absent in the story. This study also reveals that only evoked personal memory positively affects individuals’ travel by evoking emotion. Furthermore, evoked historical memories also directly impact the evoke emotion, but only when the character is absent in the story.Research limitations/implicationsThis study has three limitations. First, the measurement of emotion in this study only refers to a general measurement and does not specify between negative and positive emotions. Second, the story in the current study only focuses on one example of a natural disaster. Third, this study only used students to represent Generation Z respondents, so it would be interesting if future research compared the results across different generations.Practical implicationsThe use of a reflective narrative in storytelling can be one of the options. Marketers should be cautious when using a character when it comes to dark tourism as it might have a boomerang effect, making the destination becoming unattractive to travelers, particularly, if the story tells more about the historical side of dark tourism. Managers of tourist destinations can leverage past visitors to be brand ambassadors of a place since humans share knowledge and experiences through stories and anecdotes. These personal touches can lend the personal aspects of past visitors to current ones, which can evoke memories better than an official message from a tourism board.Originality/valueThis research investigates the role of storytelling in eliciting travelers’ memories and emotional responses and how this response eventually influences their intention to visit a dark-based destination.

Pompeii as a Dark Tourism Site: The Frozen City

Dark heritage concept becomes more popular during the last years than before especially in the field of heritage studies. This widespread encouraged what is known as dark tourism. As it is going to be discussed in this paper, the dark heritage or tourism concept include any destruction, catastrophe, and death cases. Travelling for the purpose of seeing dead or death sites become very popular and carry a special type of interest. As seen in our presented case study, Pompeii is an attractive destroyed city which catches the attention of thousands of visitors who eager to travel to see the life in this site as it was. The site of Pompeii is a unique site in its components and catastrophic and sudden destroy by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A. D. This in turn makes this site very remarkable and important dark heritage tourism site along with its importance to the scholars due to its richness that reflected the lifestyle of the ancient Romans. Among the aims of this study is to discuss the concept of dark heritage and tourism and its importance to the recent tourism programs and heritage studies shedding the light on the site of Pompeii as very successful and important model for dark tourism in Italy.

Mračna prošlost ropstva u američkim plantažnim kućama - veb-promocija i percepcije posetilaca iz recenzija sa veb-stranice TripAdvisor

The visual and linguistic representations of tourism destinations for promotional aims may be affected by their primary function of acquiring new visitors; for this reason, they are not always "value-free expressions of a place's identity" (Pritchard & Morgan, 2001, p. 177). The concept of dark tourism seems to perfectly mirror the connection between terminological choices and culturally-bound constraints. It has been acknowledged that several dark tourism sites tend to valorise (or hide) events associated with tragedy and death, attracting tourists' interest for their (non)macabre details at the expense of historical objectivity. This is the case of plantation houses in the US, whose narrative on slavery has often been "whitewashed" and minimized (e.g., Harnay, 2022; Butler, 2001; Eichstedt & Small, 2002). This study aims at investigating how visitors to popular plantation destinations in the US perceive and evaluate the presentation of the experience of slavery in these sites vis-à-vis what is presented on the plantation websites. The analysis is therefore twofold: first, a qualitative multimodal study of the content included in the websites of the plantations will shed light on whether the websites include information on the role of slave labour in the plantations, and secondly, a corpus-assisted investigation of the visitors' reviews posted on TripAdvisor will attempt to clarify how visitors perceive the plantations as a tourist location, and the importance they place on receiving honest information about the brutality of slavery during their visits. The mixed-methods approach has allowed researchers to delve into this phenomenon from two opposite, but intertwined, perspectives: one driven by experts officially promoting the visit through the websites and the other offered by visitors sharing their personal experiences and feelings.

Does a visitor of dark sites have a dark personality?

Previous research on dark tourism in vulnerable post-conflict areas, such as South-Eastern Europe, has overlooked the nature of visitor personalities. Accordingly, the main purpose of the present study is to determine which personality traits (dark triad, sadistic impulse, and six personality traits) are related to preference for dark tourism sites. The sample consisted of 227 respondents from Serbia who completed an online questionnaire. Using a multivariate general linear model, it was found that respondents high in Machiavellianism tended to prefer dark exhibitions, while respondents high in psychopathy tended to prefer visiting conflict/battle sites. Visitors to fun factories as an additional type of dark tourism sites showed low levels of sadism, while narcissism showed no effect on preference for dark tourism sites. Hence, only agreeableness and honesty-humility showed a significant effect on preference for dark tourism sites (dark exhibitions and conflict/battle sites). These results show interesting differences in dark sites visitors’ personalities.

Interpreting disaster: How interpretation types predict tourist satisfaction and loyalty to dark tourism sites

Tourism interpretation is crucial in delivering heritage value and managing tourism sites; however, existing literature neglects interpretation in the dark tourism context from tourists’ perspectives. Thus, in this study, a conceptual model was established to predict tourist satisfaction and loyalty to disaster memorials according to interpretation type (i.e., personal and non-personal). Visitors to the Tangshan Earthquake memorials in China were surveyed. Multi-group difference analysis estimated the biased effects of interpretation types, and the proposed model’s applicability was verified. Results showed that tourists who utilize non-personal interpretation services perceived lower interpretation quality, interpretation satisfaction, and overall tourist satisfaction. However, the impact of interpretation quality on interpretation satisfaction was significantly higher for this tourist group than those who use personal interpretation services, whereas the impact of tourist satisfaction on loyalty was considerably higher for tourists who utilize personal interpretation than their counterparts. Findings contribute a dynamic mechanism for dark tourism researchers and provide practical implications for destination managers.

Culloden Battlefield: the visitor experience in the context of the experience economy model

ABSTRACT Based on an interpretivist (or constructionist) perspective, this paper supplements and advances recent discussion on the dark tourism experience by effectively characterising the tourism experience at Culloden Battlefield through the lens of the Experience Economy Model (EEM), and in doing so, develop and advance theoretical knowledge of the visitor experience at battlefields. The study found that ‘battlefield’ experiences came from the psychological and emotional environment created by the dark tourism site which generated feelings of enjoyment rather than entertainment. This paper therefore suggests an amendment of the EEM to reflect the importance of edutainment rather than entertainment at the site. The study also found that visitors were either subtly seeking surprises or anticipating the possibility of surprises both before and during their visit, reflecting the need for management to deliberately facilitate (unexpected) surprises that go ‘above-and-beyond’ visitor expectations. The dramatised story of the battle captivated visitors as active participants, with the multimedia providing opportunities for the literal interpretation of the Culloden story. Since visitors came from divergent backgrounds with different needs, expectations, and levels of education, managers should be mindful that the narrative should enrich visitors’ cultural competence or spark their interest in the story when shaping their experience.

Unpacking visitors' experiences at dark tourism sites of natural disasters

Visiting post-natural disaster sites has been burgeoning in recent years. Dark tourism at those settings has been utilised as part of relief and recovery strategies after natural disasters. This research, undertaken at four post-natural disaster sites, explores the onsite experience of 196 participants using semi-structured interviews and participant-generated photos. Findings indicate that experiencing a disaster context could be cognitive, emotional, introspective, sensory, relational and hedonic. Some experience dimensions, such as introspective and relational experiences, might help illuminate the value of promoting dark tourism at natural disasters. Experience discrepancy across multiple cases indicates the heterogeneity and malleability of visitors' experiences in the context. By depicting lived experiences of tourists, this study contributes to the understanding of the ways through which dark tourism sites at natural disasters are experienced and constructed as well as provides practical insights into tourist experience creation.

Perception of Dark Tourism

Abstract In recent years, numerous studies have been conducted on the phenomenon of dark tourism. This study seeks to understand what motivates people to visit dark tourism sites such as the Chernobyl exclusion zone by applying an automated text analytics approach. Tripadvisor was chosen as a source for data collection as tourists are increasingly sharing their experiences and leave feedback online. Several natural language processing methods, such as topic modelling (LDA) and sentiment analysis, were applied to extract the primary motivators behind a visit to Chernobyl. Topic modelling results present five main topics discussed by tourists. Based on the results, the main motivational factors are discussed in detail. Furthermore, the total sentiment score shows a positive perception of the dark tourism destination. This study follows an interdisciplinary research approach applying innovative data analytics methods to investigate dark tourism through social media. By implementing NLP methods, this study reveals tourists’ perceptions from online reviews, which are not easy to discover by traditional approaches. Moreover, the results provide guidelines to tourism managers in monitoring new trends in tourism, understanding tourists’ needs and wishes, and evaluating the quality of products or services.

Exploring Aceh Tsunami Museum Visitors’ Motivation, Experience and Emotional Reaction

AbstractThis study explores how the Aceh Tsunami Museum visitors’ motivation and experience affect their emotional reactions. The study expands current theorisations by examining the merits of emotional reaction in visitors’ behaviour models. A total of 384 visitors completed a self‐administered survey via online forms. The results show that visitors’ emotional reaction is affected by motivational factors and their experience visiting the museum. This study fills in the gaps in the limited research on visitors’ motivations, experiences, and emotional reactions to the dark museum site. From a practical perspective, this one of the early studies proving that the Aceh Tsunami Museum is well perceived as a popular dark tourism site and can be promoted as a potential niche tourism product by the Aceh government.

The impact of attitudes, motivational factors, and emotions on the image of a dark tourism site and the desire of the victims’ descendants to visit it

ABSTRACT The present study explores the influence of attitudes, motivational factors, and emotions on the image of a Holocaust tourism site and ultimately, the desire of the victims’ descendants to visit it. The study, which was conducted with an online questionnaire distributed to a purposeful sample of 243 second-generation Holocaust survivors residing in Israel, found that the image of this dark tourism site was a significant mediator between: (a) respondents’ attitudes, (b) respondents’ emotions of animosity and grief, (c) heritage motivations, and the intent to visit the destination in which the dark tourism site is located. The results also highlight the importance of respondents’ feelings towards the country in which this dark tourism attraction is located. Respondents’ health constraints emerged as a significant moderator in the relationship between the image of the dark tourism site and the desire to visit the country in which the attraction is located. The study concludes with implications and directions for future research.

Journeying into the past to discover the potential for WWII dark tourism in the Solomon Islands

ABSTRACT Battlefields have long been a source of interest for military enthusiasts, historians, veterans, and their descendants, inquisitive tourists, and the local community. Recently, this form of dark tourism has gained increasing attention as sites associated with death, disaster and atrocity have been a source of economic development as well as a historical reminder of death and sacrifice and the importance of a future of peace and hope. This study explores the potential for developing dark tourism around the Battle of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Using a mixed-method approach, the study finds tourists experience a range of both positive and negative emotions when visiting these sites. This paper makes a theoretical contribution to the study of dark tourism using Plutchik’s theory of eight primary emotions to reveal how tourists experience the dark tourism sites while, on the supply side, critically evaluate how the local community and tourism stakeholders negotiate and navigate offering these dark tourism experiences as part of their tourism development, in a developing country context. Managerial implications are discussed concerning what local stakeholders can do to collaborate to offer a memorable dark tourism experience.

Dark Tourism in the EU: Are We Aware of Taking Part in It?

Dark tourism attractions and sites are gaining increasing attention, whereas dark tourism is considered one of the relatively recent and growing trends in the turbulent tourism market. Along with providing a theoretical framework, this paper aims to explore the tourism market of dark tourism and the motives of tourist demand. The perspectives of the population of the Republic of Croatia on dark tourism as a concept as well as the offer side of dark tourism are presented. These findings will be useful in designing and improving this kind of tourist offer, which also represents the main purpose of this paper. The research instrument was an original questionnaire. The main hypothesis of research refers to insufficient tourists’ awareness of their participation in dark tourism, which was confirmed by the carried research. The new frontier of research refers to their propensity of visit in case they would be aware of the tragic history related to a site; namely if they knew a site they visited previously is classified as a dark tourism site – would they still have chosen to visit it?

TOURISTS’ MOTIVATIONS FOR VISITING DARK TOURISM SITES. CASE OF ROMANIA

Nowadays, tourism plays an essential role in economic growth and development in many countries. Tourists have different travelling motivations and behavioural manifestations, helping tour operators decide suitable for them. Developing a dark tourism niche concept is a necessary step for correct use of it in theory and practice. Dark tourism is an important concept studied in the past twenty years in worldwide literature. This empirical paper aimed to determine the tourists’ motivations for travelling to Romania’s dark tourism destinations and establishing them. A quantitative research method was applied based on a survey using a non-probabilistic technique based on convenience sampling. Secondary, it was studied the relationship between motivational determinants and tourists’ attitude-behaviour in visiting dark tourism sites (Theory of Planned Behaviour, TPB). The survey conducted online was primarily made of 40 items evaluated on the Likert scale. It has been used a sample based on 475 Romanian respondents: 72.3% who had already visited a dark tourism destination in Romania, and 27.8% who stated they planned to visit one. The theoretical framework has analysed five constructs as motivational determinants in the relationships with behavioural construct attitude (TPB). The results show support for two of five research hypotheses (H1 and H4). Dark experience (H1) and Unique learning experience (H4) have a significant and positive effect on Attitude. We did not find any significant effect of Engaging entertainment, Casual interest, and Emotional recreation on Attitude. Hence, H2, H3 and H5 are not supported. Based on these results, the government can develop tourism economic and marketing policy to develop dark tourism as important post-communist niche tourism. The practitioners can develop and promote tourism packages and products by applying the correct use of dark tourism sense. The present scientific paper’s originality is given by the lack of literature review studies based on empirical research on this topic. Limits of the research and future research directions are also pointed out in the conclusion part.

Dark tourism segmentation by tourists' motivations for visiting earthquake sites in Nepal: implications for dark tourism

ABSTRACT This study explores visitors' experiences, post-visit attitudes, and benefits in relation to dark tourism destinations. A total of 464 responses were collected at seismic memorial sites, and the responses were grouped into different clusters by their motivations using hierarchical cluster analysis. The study results indicate that motivations for visiting dark tourism sites significantly affect tourists’ experiences and positive post-visit intentions and are mainly related to tourists’ demographic characteristics (e.g., nationality and traveling pattern). The findings advance our understanding and insights on tourists’ motivations for visiting dark tourism sites, enabling organizers and marketers to better manage and develop attractive dark tourism destinations.

Using Rumours and Dark Stories to Promote Tourism: Applied to Egyptian dark tourism sites

As known, tourism bears an exceptional ability to generate profit and furnish job opportunities, besides finding methods on how to gain benefits of dark tourism to the growth of the Egyptian tourism sector. So the study focuses on how to use a unique set of marketing tools as Rumours and Dark testimonies to entice visitors to go to visits darkish heritage sites which using uncommon scenarios and it's primarily based on the technique of the interpretation that affords to the site visitors as a unique experience it combines the tangible and intangible effects inside the sites. Also, the study draws attention to unfamiliar types of tourism through using technology, exhibitions, drama and storytelling. The study also investigates how the community can cooperate with the stakeholders in promoting dark tourism with stakeholders for implementation. Finally, the research approach is based totally on a descriptive-analytical study, using the method of descriptive analysis resources like empirical and theoretical articles, journals, newspapers, websites, books, blogs and using an online survey.