Tourism Management Issues
TOURISM MANAGEMENT ISSUES: DARK TOURISM
Discuss the tourism management issues generated by the growth of dark tourism.
Abstract:
The aim of this research is to consider dark tourism and discuss what are the tourism management issues generated by the growth of this phenomenon. To clarify this concept, the report will also include a definition of dark tourism, a brief background of why this type of tourism is continuously increasing, and finally conclusions will be drawn.
Keywords: culture management, visitor number management, safeguard, vandalism, conservation
Introduction:
Dark tourism has been defined as encompassing the visitation to any site associated with death, disaster and tragedy in the twentieth century for remembrance, education or entertainment. Furthermore Howie (2003) argues that visits to the sites of recent tragedies, as for example the site of the World Trade Center in New York destroyed by terrorist attacks in 2001, raise issues of both genuine compassion and morbid fascination. Urry (1991, taken from Theobald, 1994) also suggests that nostalgia, it would seem, knows no limits, to the virtual extent that the worse the experience the more appealing the attraction. The idea of dark side of tourism has also been identified by Dann and Seaton (2001) as incorporating what they call thanatourism, milking the macabre as a kind that pervades tourism in general.
As suggested by McCormick (2004) dark tourism is not a new phenomenon as it can be referred back to the twelfth century when the violent death of the British Canterbury in the town's cathedral attracted many people to the site. Today's sites such as Chernobyl, The World Trade Center, Auschwitz or even sites where famous people were killed such as John F Kennedy are all experiencing an increase in visitor's number (Lennon and Foley, 2004). As an article by the Guardian (2004) suggest, the explosion that in 1986, ripped the roof off Chernobyl's fourth reactor, causing the building's walls
Discuss the tourism management issues generated by the growth of dark tourism.
Abstract:
The aim of this research is to consider dark tourism and discuss what are the tourism management issues generated by the growth of this phenomenon. To clarify this concept, the report will also include a definition of dark tourism, a brief background of why this type of tourism is continuously increasing, and finally conclusions will be drawn.
Keywords: culture management, visitor number management, safeguard, vandalism, conservation
Introduction:
Dark tourism has been defined as encompassing the visitation to any site associated with death, disaster and tragedy in the twentieth century for remembrance, education or entertainment. Furthermore Howie (2003) argues that visits to the sites of recent tragedies, as for example the site of the World Trade Center in New York destroyed by terrorist attacks in 2001, raise issues of both genuine compassion and morbid fascination. Urry (1991, taken from Theobald, 1994) also suggests that nostalgia, it would seem, knows no limits, to the virtual extent that the worse the experience the more appealing the attraction. The idea of dark side of tourism has also been identified by Dann and Seaton (2001) as incorporating what they call thanatourism, milking the macabre as a kind that pervades tourism in general.
As suggested by McCormick (2004) dark tourism is not a new phenomenon as it can be referred back to the twelfth century when the violent death of the British Canterbury in the town's cathedral attracted many people to the site. Today's sites such as Chernobyl, The World Trade Center, Auschwitz or even sites where famous people were killed such as John F Kennedy are all experiencing an increase in visitor's number (Lennon and Foley, 2004). As an article by the Guardian (2004) suggest, the explosion that in 1986, ripped the roof off Chernobyl's fourth reactor, causing the building's walls