Dark Tourism

Foreign Literature:
Dark tourism- also known as Thanatourism- is a thriving phenomenon which has generated
considerable interest within the tourism industry. The term was first coined by Foley and Lennon
(Stone Sharpley, 2008), and has been generally described as tourism involving locations associated
with death and great suffering (Gibson, 2006: pg. 47). This literature review will attempt to
understand and analyse the various motivations and perceptions of tourists visiting these dark sites.
The fundamental motive for visiting dark sites is being explored in modern research. According to
Stone and Sharpley, visitors are seen to be driven by differing intensities of interest or fascination in
death (Stone Sharpley, 2008: pg 6). Hence, it can be perceived that visitor motivations are not
homogenous.
The motivations of visitors can be further explored through the differentiation in degrees of dark
tourism. Due to the varied and uniquely different nature of dark tourism products, the term dark
tourism itself is vague and ambiguous (Stone, 2006).
The existing literature on the motivations for dark tourism is fragmented (Stone, 2011). To bridge the
gaps in existing literature, a deeper insight is required relating to the definition of dark tourism itself.
Relating to this perspective, seven suppliers of dark tourism have been identified ranging from light
to dark dark tourism (Stone, 2006). These were described as a spectrum of supply outlined with a
subsequent seven type categorisation of dark tourism suppliers (Stone, 2006: Pg. 157). They include
dark fun factories, dark exhibitions, dark dungeons, dark resting places, dark shrines, dark conflict
sites and dark genocide camps. Thus a range of tourist experiences has been created from the
lightest shades (haunted houses at amusement parks) to the darkest (Auschwitz). This sub
categorization of dark tourism enables a broader perspective into the motivations of visitors
depending on the degree of darkness. For example, the motivations of a tourist on a Jack the Ripper
tour in London will differ from those of a tourist at the Killing Fields in Cambodia.
Foreign Study:
Traditionally this form of tourism has been studied on the premise that visitors of dark sites- also
known as dark tourists- are fascinated with the concept of death. Modern societys fascination with
death has indeed spurred the phenomenon of dark tourism (Stone, 2006). Gibson further explored
this premise within the paradigms of serial murder related tourism- an emerging genre of dark tourism,
particularly in the United States. According to his findings, wound culture theory- which stems from an
innate fascination of death- is directly related to the growing interest in serial murder tourism (Gibson,
2006). A prime example is the Jack the Ripper Tourist Experience in the United Kingdom which is
focused on entertainment purposes despite an inclination towards the macabre (Gibson, 2006).
However, Thanatourism extends beyond a dark fascination with death and studies have shown that
this is not the only motivation for visiting dark sites. Several factors take precedence over this alleged
fascination and were subsequently identified. They have been summarised below.
Personal Heritage:
The most commonly cited reason has been to obtain a sense of emotional heritage. Based on this
motivation, it can be argued that the incentives for visiting dark sites are similar to those visiting a
regular heritage site (Biran Poria Oren, 2011). Focusing on the sub category of battlefield tourism,
visitor motivations stemmed from a sense of moral or cultural obligation to the dead and as a result, a
visit to a dark site manifests as a pilgrimage owing to a sense of heritage (Dunkley Morgan
Westwood, 2011). These visitor motivations were identified to be based on a sense of personal
heritage owing to the participation of their relatives and kin in the First World War (Dunkley Morgan
Westwood, 2011).
The same phenomenon was observed with respect to slave tourism where visitors were drawn to the
Slave Castles in Ghana irrespective of transnational boundaries owing to shared cultural roots and a
desire to identify with these sites and the events that transpired there (Mowatt Chancellor, 2011). The
motivation to visit sites connected with the personal heritage of the visitor was the highest and most
significant reason to visit these sites (Biran Poria Oren, 2011). Hence the motivations in this case
arise from a sense of personal and cultural connection and the site is treated as a heritage site.
It was also noted that visitors with heritage based motivations considered themselves to be
representative pilgrims and felt that they were paying homage to the dead on behalf of other people
who could not be there physically (Dunkley Morgan Westwood, 2011). The same phenomenon was
observed amongst visitors of Slave Castles in Ghana who saw themselves as less of tourists and
more as witnesses to history and travellers on a pilgrimage (Mowatt Chancellor, 2011) irrespective of
transnational boundaries and united by a common ethnic history. As a result a collective, communal
feeling of shared heritage also acts as an incentive and strengthens the desire to visit dark sites.
Sources:
Bigley J. Lee C. Chon J. and Yoon Y. (2010) Motivations for War Related Tourism: A Case for DMZ
Visitors in Korea, Tourism Geographies (12) 371-394
Biran A. Poria Y. and Oren G. (2011) Sought Experiences at Dark Heritage Sites, Annals of Tourism
Research (38); 820-841
Braithwaite R. and Lieper N. (2010) Contests on the River Kwai: How a Wartime Tragedy became a
Recreational, Commercial and Nationalistic Plaything, Current Issues in Tourism (13); 311-332
Dunkley R. Morgan N. and Westwood S. (2011) Visiting the trenches: Exploring Meanings and
Motivations in Battlefield Tourism, Tourism Management (32); 860-868
Gibson D. (2006) The Relationship between Serial Murder and the American Tourism Industry,
Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing (20)
Mowatt R. and Chancellor C. (2011) Visiting Death and Life: Dark Tourism and Slave Castles, Annals
of Tourism Research (38); 1410-1434
Local Literature
A south-east Asian country of over 7000 islands on the edge of the Pacific
between Taiwan and Indonesia. For the dark tourist it is primarily the many WWIIrelated sites that may make the country interesting. The Philippines, then under
US-administration, were invaded and occupied by Japan from April 1942.
Sites that are commodified for tourism include those related to the American
defence of the islands (especially at Corregidor), the Japanese occupation and
repression, including POW camps and the infamous POW 'death march' of Bataan
one of Japan's major war crimes.
The subsequent re-conquering of the islands by the USA, especially in and
around the capital Manila as well as at Leyte, is celebrated through monuments
too. Particularly famous is the group of golden statues, with General MacArthur
the most prominent figure, wading through shallow water at the Leyte Landing
Memorial.
Local Study:
According to Mevz on pinoyadventurista Paco Park is one of the oldest cemetery

in our country. Is also is Manilas municipal cemetery during the spanish colonial
period. Most of the wealthy families during that time interred the remains of their
loved ones here. Tough it was originally planned as a municipal cemetery for the
well-off and established upper-class Spanish families who resided in the old
manila, it was also used to bury victims of the cholera epidemic that swept
across the city during that time.
Sources:
http://www.dark-tourism.com/index.php/philippines
http://www.pinoyadventurista.com/2011/10/dark-tourism-my-fascinationwith.html

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What are some of the motivations for visiting dark tourism sites according to the literature?

How does personal heritage factor into motivations for visiting dark tourism sites?

Foreign Literature:

According to Mevz on pinoyadventurista Paco Park is one of the oldest cemetery

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