Dark Tourism
Do the Benefits of Dark Tourism Outweigh the Morbidity
Maameegate Zheng Jun Cheston
Tay Kai Ren
ENG114 – Section 1006
University of Nevada, Las Vegas / Singapore Campus
Do the Benefits of Dark Tourism Outweigh the Morbidity
Introduction
Dark tourism encourages people to reflect on mortality, bringing them closer to death (Stone, 2010). It is a multitude of history, heritage, tourism and tragedy which plays an important role in delivering information by bringing the past to present (Niemelä, 2010). Since the existence of mankind, the travel to and experiences associated with death is not a new phenomenon and we have been interested and drawn towards sites or attractions associated with misery and death since the time of pilgrimages and before (Stone and Sharpley, 2008, p1; Niemelä, 2010, Robb, 2009). This practice was first labelled and coined “dark tourism” by Lennon and Foley (2003:3 as cited by Robb, 2009, p.1; Stone and Sharpley, 2008). However, there have been many variation of similar terms used to define or label the consumption of death-related tourist activities such as “thanatourism”, “morbid tourism”, “disaster tourism” and “grief tourism” (Stone and Sharpley, 2008; Nimelä, 2010).
Over the last century, there is an increase of tourist flocking to sites associated with death and disaster (Yuill, 2003). Being based on human misery and death, the upsurge consumption of dark tourism goes beyond traditional tourism whereby tourists seek to understand cultures and histories (Robb, 2009). A study done by Lunn (2000:26) stated that visitation to Titanic naval disaster at two off-site exhibitions in Greenwich England and Alantic Halifax showed that visitor increment on a yearly basis was approximately 2.5 times “. . . visitation in 1997 had been 112,600 – 1998 saw 224,000 visitors” (as cited by Yuill, 2003).
Other than the emotional and educational motive that dark tourism offers in a contemporary society, death has become a taboo due to the
Maameegate Zheng Jun Cheston
Tay Kai Ren
ENG114 – Section 1006
University of Nevada, Las Vegas / Singapore Campus
Do the Benefits of Dark Tourism Outweigh the Morbidity
Introduction
Dark tourism encourages people to reflect on mortality, bringing them closer to death (Stone, 2010). It is a multitude of history, heritage, tourism and tragedy which plays an important role in delivering information by bringing the past to present (Niemelä, 2010). Since the existence of mankind, the travel to and experiences associated with death is not a new phenomenon and we have been interested and drawn towards sites or attractions associated with misery and death since the time of pilgrimages and before (Stone and Sharpley, 2008, p1; Niemelä, 2010, Robb, 2009). This practice was first labelled and coined “dark tourism” by Lennon and Foley (2003:3 as cited by Robb, 2009, p.1; Stone and Sharpley, 2008). However, there have been many variation of similar terms used to define or label the consumption of death-related tourist activities such as “thanatourism”, “morbid tourism”, “disaster tourism” and “grief tourism” (Stone and Sharpley, 2008; Nimelä, 2010).
Over the last century, there is an increase of tourist flocking to sites associated with death and disaster (Yuill, 2003). Being based on human misery and death, the upsurge consumption of dark tourism goes beyond traditional tourism whereby tourists seek to understand cultures and histories (Robb, 2009). A study done by Lunn (2000:26) stated that visitation to Titanic naval disaster at two off-site exhibitions in Greenwich England and Alantic Halifax showed that visitor increment on a yearly basis was approximately 2.5 times “. . . visitation in 1997 had been 112,600 – 1998 saw 224,000 visitors” (as cited by Yuill, 2003).
Other than the emotional and educational motive that dark tourism offers in a contemporary society, death has become a taboo due to the
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