dark tourism research proposal

Dark tourism: motivations and visit intentions of tourists

International Hospitality Review

ISSN : 2516-8142

Article publication date: 8 July 2021

Issue publication date: 14 June 2022

The overall purpose of this study is to utilize the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in combination with four dark tourism constructs (dark experience, engaging entertainment, unique learning experience, and casual interest) to gain a better understanding of behaviors and intentions of tourists who have visited or plan to visit a dark tourism location.

Design/methodology/approach

A total of 1,068 useable questionnaires was collected via Qualtrics Panels for analysis purposes. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to verify satisfactory reliability and validity regarding the measurement of model fit. With adequate model fit, structural equation modeling was employed to determine positive and negative relationships between TPB and dark tourism constructs. In all, 11 hypotheses statements were tested within this study.

Results of this study indicate that tourists are curious, interested, and intrigued by dark experiences with paranormal activity, resulting in travel choices made for themselves based on personal beliefs and preferences, with minimal outside influence from others. It was determined that dark experience was the most influential of the dark tourism constructs tested in relationship to attitudes and subjective norm.

Research limitations/implications

The data collected for this study were collected using Qualtrics Panels with self-reporting participants. The actual destination visited by survey participants was also not factored into the results of this research study.

Originality/value

This study provides a new theoretical research model that merges TPB and dark tourism constructs and established that there is a relationship between TPB constructs and dark tourism.

Dark tourism

• Thanatourism
• Motivations
• Theory of planned behaviour

Lewis, H. , Schrier, T. and Xu, S. (2022), "Dark tourism: motivations and visit intentions of tourists", International Hospitality Review , Vol. 36 No. 1, pp. 107-123. https://doi.org/10.1108/IHR-01-2021-0004

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Heather Lewis, Thomas Schrier and Shuangyu Xu

Published in International Hospitality Review . Published by Emerald Publishing Limited. This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this licence may be seen at http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode

Introduction

Dark tourism is defined as the act of tourists traveling to sites of death, tragedy, and suffering ( Foley and Lennon, 1996 ). This past decade marks a significant growth of dark tourism with increasing number of dark tourists ( Lennon and Foley, 2000 ; Martini and Buda, 2018 ). More than 2.1 million tourists visited Auschwitz Memorial in 2018 (visitor numbers, 2019), and 3.2 million tourists visited the Ground Zero 9/11 Memorial annually (a year in review, 2017). Despite of the increasing popularity, there is still limited understanding of dark tourism as a multi-faceted phenomenon ( Biran et al. , 2011 ) . Some research has looked into the motivations and experience of dark tourists ( Poria et al. , 2004 ; Poria et al. , 2006 ). However, most were based on conceptual frameworks and arguments with little empirical data, even less have examined tourist visit intentions to dark tourism sites ( Zhang et al. , 2016 ), let alone the association between dark tourists' motivations and visit intentions. Many scholars suggested the pressing needs for empirical research into dark tourism from tourist perspectives to understand their motivations and experiences ( Seaton and Lennon, 2004 ; Sharpley and Stone, 2009 ; Zhang et al. , 2016 ). Of the limited empirical dark tourism studies, most were case studies with historical battlefields and concentration camps being the hot spots ( Le and Pearce, 2011 ; Lennon and Foley, 1999 ; Miles, 2002 ). Still, a comprehensive understanding of dark tourists' motivations and their intentions to visit is lacking.

As such, this study was conducted to understand both the motivations and visit intentions of tourists to dark tourism destinations. Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) constructs ( attitudes, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control) and the four dark tourism dimensions (i.e. dark experience, engaging entertainment, unique learning experience, and casual interest ) were utilized to address the following objectives: (1) examine the motivations of dark tourists; (2) investigate the intentions of the dark tourists to visit a dark tourism destination in the next 12 months; and (3) explore the association between the motivations and visit intentions of dark tourists. The dark tourism dimensions utilized for this study were adapted supported by previous dark tourism studies ( Biran et al. , 2014 ; Bissell, 2009 ; Lam and Hsu, 2006 ; Molle and Bader, 2014 ). While many studies have utilized TPB in the past, this study will utilize the TPB to focus attention on why travelers are motivated to visit dark tourism locations specifically.

Literature review

Travels associated with death dates back for centuries ( Dale and Robinson, 2011 ). Early examples of dark tourism include Roman gladiator games, guided tours to watch hangings in England, and pilgrimages to medieval executions ( Stone, 2006 ). Even today, many tourists are fascinated with and thus visited sites of death and tragedy such as the John F. Kennedy's death site in Dallas, Texas, and the Ground Zero 9/11 Memorial in New York ( Foley and Lennon, 1996 ; Strange and Kempa, 2003 ). Abandoned prisons and sites of punishment and incarcerations are also popular attractions among dark tourists (e.g., Pentridge in Melbourne, Australia; Foley and Lennon, 1996 ). However, the term dark tourism did not get introduced to the research community until 1996 which ignited many later research efforts on this topic ( Light, 2017 ).

Dark tourism is defined as the act of tourists traveling to sites of death, tragedy, and suffering ( Foley and Lennon, 1996 ). Many scholars also came up with other terms and labels to describe such phenomenon including thanatourism ( Seaton, 1996 ), disaster tourism ( Rojek, 1993 ), black spot tourism ( Rojek, 1993 ), morbid tourism ( Blom, 2000 ) and even phoenix tourism ( Powell et al. , 2018 ). Mowatt and Chancellor (2011) suggested that despite of different names, at the heart of the concept is travel to places of death that are often linked to violence ( Robb, 2009 ). Many researchers use the term dark tourism and thanatourism interchangeably, while more tend to use dark tourism as an umbrella term for any form of tourism that is somehow related to death, suffering, atrocity, tragedy or crime ( Light, 2017 ). Given the standard use of the term dark tourism in the practice and scholarship of tourism, such a term will be used throughout this manuscript.

Dark tourism research in this past two decades mainly covers six themes including the discussion on definition, concepts, and typologies; the associated ethical issues; the political and ideological dimensions; the nature of demand for dark tourism locations; site management; and the methods used for research ( Light, 2017 ). The area of terminology and definitions undoubtedly dominates in the dark tourism literature ( Zhang et al. , 2016 ). While in the area of exploring the nature of demand for dark tourism locations, the relatively limited research concentrated in four aspects – both the motivations and experiences of dark tourists, the relationship between visiting and sense of identity, and new approaches to theorizing the consumption of dark tourism ( Light, 2017 ).

Research addressing dark tourists' motivations were relatively slow. Many early studies simply postulate and propose tourists' motivations to visit dark tourism sites, with a lack of empirical research to support ( Light, 2017 ). As such, many studies in the past decade examined dark tourists' motivations through different case studies, with concentration camps or historical battlefields being the hot spots ( Lennon and Foley, 1999 ; Miles, 2002 ). Research reveals that tourists visit dark tourism destinations for a wide variety of reasons, such as curiosity ( Biran et al. , 2014 ; Isaac and Cakmak, 2014 ), desire for education and learning about what happened at the site ( Kamber et al. , 2016 ; Yan et al. , 2016 ), interest in history or death ( Yankholmes and McKercher, 2015 ; Raine, 2013 ), connecting with one's personal or family heritage ( Mowatt and Chancellor, 2011 ; Le and Pearce, 2011 ). Drawing from literature, four common themes (i.e. dark experience, engaging entertainment, unique learning experience, casual interest) emerged, served as the foundational pillars for this study, and were discussed below.

The motivation construct

Dark experience.

Raine's (2013) dark tourist spectrum study of tourists visiting burial grounds and graveyards concluded that mourners and pilgrims had personal and spiritual connections to the different sites being studied. Mourners visited specific gravesites and usually would perform meditations for the dead. Pilgrims had a personal connection to specific burial sites in some way, whether it is a religious connection to the individual or they served as a personal hero ( Raine, 2013 ). Death rites are often performed as a ritual not necessarily to mark the passing of the deceased but rather to heal the wounds of families, communities, societies, and/or nations by the deceased's passing ( Bowman and Pezzullo, 2009 ).

Additionally, Raine's (2013) study discovered another subset of tourists—the morbidly curious and thrill seekers. Those classified as morbidly curious or thrill seekers were visiting burial sites to confront and experience death. Whether a mourner or pilgrim or the morbidly curious thrill seeker, the tourists had a strong connection to the dead they were there to visit which could categorize them as seeking a dark experience.

To take dark tourism to the extreme, Miller and Gonzalez (2013) completed a study on death tourism. Death tourism occurs when individuals travel to a location to end their lives, often through a means of assisted medical suicide. It was determined that this is still a taboo topic for some countries where it is not legalized, however it is gaining more publicity. It was determined that death tourism is typically the result of one of four reasons; the primary reason death tourism is planned is because of assisted suicide being illegal in the traveler's home country ( Miller and Gonzalez, 2013 ). While death tourism does not directly apply to this particular study, it is an offspring of dark tourism and is a tourist activity that is related to dark experience.

Dark Experience will have a positive relationship with Attitudes

Dark Experience will have a positive relationship with Subjective Norm

Engaging Entertainment

Engaging Entertainment will have a positive relationship with Attitudes

Engaging Entertainment will have a positive relationship with Subjective Norm

Unique learning experience

Unique Learning Experience will have a positive relationship with Attitudes

Unique Learning Experience will have a positive relationship with Subjective Norm

Casual interest

Casual Interest will have a positive relationship with Attitudes

Casual Interest will have a positive relationship with Subjective Norm

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

Behavioral intention, defined as an individual's anticipated or planned future behavior ( Swan, 1981 ), has been suggested as a central factor that correlates strongly with observed behavior ( Baloglu, 2000 ). Many believed that intentions serve as an immediate antecedent to actual behavior ( Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975 ; Konu and Laukkanen, 2010 ). Fishbein and Ajzen developed the Theory of planned behavior (TPB) base on three constructs: attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) has been widely used in tourism research ( Ajzen and Driver, 1992 ; Han et al. , 2010 ; Han and Kim, 2010 ; Lam and Hsu, 2004 , 2006 ). TPB suggests that individuals are more likely to engage in behaviors that are believed to be achievable ( Armitage and Conner, 2001 ). Ajzen (1991) suggested that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control are important to predict intention. Perceived behavioral control is what influences the tourists' intentions and their perception of their ability to perform a specific behavior.

Lam and Hsu (2004) utilized the TPB to examine motivations of travelers from mainland China to Hong Kong and found that attitude, perceived behavioral control, and past behaviors were directly related to travel intentions. In another study examining the visit intentions of Taiwanese travelers to Hong Kong, Lam and Hsu (2006) found that a positive association between visit frequency and re-visit intention.

Cheng et al. (2006) used the TPB to examine the negative word-of-mouth communication on visit intentions of Chinese consumers to high-class Chinese restaurants. It was determined from their study that the TPB constructs were positively impacted by negative word-of-mouth indicating that the TPB effectively measured consumer communication intention. Similarly, Han and Kim (2010) modified the TPB in the investigation of customers' intention to revisit environmentally friendly hotels and found that past behavior was a significant predictor of intention–the more customers stay at a green hotel, the more likely they intend to revisit. It can be concluded from previous research efforts that the TPB can be utilized to effectively measure behavioral intentions of tourists successfully.

Motivation and intentions

Attitudes will have a positive relationship with Intention

Subjective Norm will have a negative relationship with Intention

Perceived Behavioral Control will have a positive relationship with Intention

Methodology

Survey instrument.

A survey questionnaire was developed to collect information on the socio-demographic background, motivation construct, and planned behavior construct from tourists. Socio-demographic data queried were age in years (continuous), gender (3 categories, male, female and prefer not to answer), level of education (9 categories, from less than high school degree to doctoral degree), marital status (5 categories, from single to widow/widower), personal annual income (12 categories, from less than $20,000 to more than $200,000). Tourists' home residence state and country were also collected.

A dark tourism motivation construct was developed based on previous studies ( Biran et al. , 2014 ; Bissell, 2009 ; Lam and Hsu, 2006 ; Molle and Bader, 2014 ), and used to query previous visit and potential visit separately using a five-point Likert scale (“1 = extremely unimportant”; “5 = extremely important”). This motivation construct consists of 33 item statements from four dimensions ( Table 1 ) which include engaging entertainment, dark experience , unique learning experience , and casual interest . Dark experience consisted of nine statements, related to death, fascination with abnormal and/or bizarre events and destinations, and emotional experiences with a connection to death (e.g., “to travel”, “to have some entertainment”). Engaging entertainment was measured using ten statements that inquire about the personal or emotional connection to the destination they have visited or wish to visit in the future (e.g., “to witness the act of death and dying”, “to experience paranormal activity”). Unique learning experience focused on learning about the history of the destination being visited or trying something that is different and out of the ordinary (eight items, e.g., “to try something new”, “to increase knowledge”). Casual interest focuses on individuals who want to visit a dark tourism destination for the entertainment value but want to have a relaxing time while doing so (six items, “special tour promotions”, “natural scenery”).

The planned behavior construct queried on four dimensions (i.e., attitudes , subjective norms , perceived behavioral control , and behavioral intentions ) associated with visiting dark tourism destinations, with a total of 16 item statements ( Table 2 ). Five item statements were used to measure dark tourists' attitudes (e.g., “visiting a dark tourism destination is enjoyable”, “visiting a dark tourism destination is pleasant”) and behavioral intentions (e.g., “I will visit a dark tourism destination in the next 12 months”, “I would revisit the most recent dark tourism destination I visited again in the future”) respectively, using a five-point Likert scale (“1 = Strongly disagree”; “5 = Strongly agree”). Dark tourists' perceived behavioral control was measured by three item statements (e.g., “I am in control of whether or not I visit a dark tourism destination”, “If wanted, I could easily afford to visit a dark tourism destination”), using the same five-point Likert scale (“1 = Strongly disagree”; “5 = Strongly agree”). For subjective norms dimension, each of the three item statements was measured by a different five-point Likert scale. The statement that “most people I know would choose a dark tourism destination for vacation purposes” uses the scale in which “1 = strongly disagree”, “5 = strongly agree”. One item statement asks individuals to rate on whether “people who are important to me think I ____ choose a dark tourism destination to visit” “1 = definitely should not”, “5 = definitely should”). Another statement asks individuals to rate whether “people who are important to me would ___ of my visit to a dark tourism destination” “1 = definitely disapprove”, “5 = definitely approve”).

Sampling and procedure

To increase the reliability and validity of the survey, a pilot study was conducted. A small group of industry professionals from all over the country currently working at dark tourism destinations and other academic researchers were invited to critique the initial draft of the survey. Forty-one individuals took the survey instrument and provided feedback (e.g., some wording issues). After revisions from the pilot study were completed, the survey was launched, and data was collected.

Qualtrics, a web-based survey software company with access to an electronic database of survey candidates, was used to administer this questionnaire to participants. A total of 44,270 invitations were randomly sent to Qualtrics panel participants requesting participation in this study. Qualification of participants was completed by requesting all survey recipients answer the following questions: (1) Have you visited a dark tourism location within the past 24 months? and (2) Do you plan to visit a dark tourism location within the next 12 months? A statement was provided to all participants explaining what consisted of a dark tourism location to ensure participants were not taking the survey based on experiences of activities like haunted houses or haunted hayrides. Only 3,907 individuals were eligible to complete the survey, and a total of 1,068 participants did complete the survey, which yields a response rate of 27.3%. Altogether 651 out of 1,068 individuals had previously visited a dark tourism destination within the last 24 months while the remaining 417 individuals plan to visit a dark tourism destination within the next 12 months.

Data analysis included descriptive statistics, reliability tests, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM). Descriptive statistics were used to outline respondents' characteristics (e.g., demographic composition). CFA was utilized to evaluate the measurement model, demonstrate adequate model fit, and ensure satisfactory levels of reliability and validity of underlying variables and their respective factors. Factor loadings greater than 0.70 indicated that the constructs are appropriately represented and considered acceptable ( Hair et al. , 2010 ). Cronbach's alphas were computed to test the internal reliability of items comprising each dimension of the dark tourism motivation construct ( dark experience , engaging entertainment , unique learning experience , casual interest ) and the planned behavior construct ( attitudes , subjective norm , perceived behavioral control ), respectively. A cutoff value of 0.7 was utilized to determine “good” reliability ( Peterson, 1994 , p. 381).

To confirm measurement model validity, the chi-squared ( x 2 ) statistic, Root-Mean-Square-Error of Approximation (RMSEA), Comparative Fit Index (CFI), and the Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) values were reviewed. Cutoff criteria used to determine “good fit” were RMSEA score < 0.08 ( Byrne, 1998 ), CFI scores > 0.90 ( Kline, 2005 ), SRMR < 0.08 to indicate a good fit ( Hu and Bentler, 1999 ).

Overwhelmingly, many tourists who had either visited a dark tourism location or plan to visit a dark tourism destination were female (65.4%). Additionally, the majority of participants were 25–34 years of age (44.2%) with the next largest age groups being 35–44 years (21%) and 18–24 years (20.9%). Most had either a 4-years Bachelor's degree from college (30.5%) or at least some college education but did not finish their degree (25.3%). 54.5% of the survey participants were married and 37.6% were single. As for income, the largest percentage (19.5%) had an individual annual income ranging from $20,001-$40,000. A full table of demographic characteristics of the participants can be seen in Table 3 .

Partial disaggregation of measurement model

SEM was utilized to investigate the relationships among dark tourism construct, the planned behavior construct and behavioral intentions. Like the CFA testing, the SEM also uses the chi-squared ( x 2 ) , RMSEA, SRMR, and CFI to determine overall model fit and relationships for this study. After further testing for convergent and discriminant validity, it was determined that all constructs met the composite reliability 0.70 or greater standard regarding the 3-parcel hypothesized model ( Table 4 ) ( Hair et al. , 2010 ).

There are several ways to parcel variables into groupings. For purposes of this study, the variables were parceled using the item-to-construct method since the SEM model was large in size and the goal was to have parcels balanced in terms of difficulty and discrimination ( Little et al. , 2002 ). To develop the parcels, standardized regression weights were evaluated, and the three highest scores served as anchors to each of the three parcels with the highest values associated to parcel 1, next highest to parcel 2, and then the next highest to parcel 3. The remainder of variables were placed into the parcels continuing with the 4th highest value placed into the 3rd parcel and repeating the process in inverted order until all variables were assigned into parcels. Once the variables for each construct were placed into appropriate parcel groupings, averages of the questions associated to the new parceled variables were calculated prior to the CFA and SEM analysis. The attitude and behavioral intention constructs had five variable questions, while subjective norm and perceived behavioral control only had three questions. In those situations, one individual variable question served as the parcel item. Table 2 shows the variables and the parcels in which they were grouped.

Additionally, the average variance extracted was calculated and proved to be less than the composite reliability for each construct indicating convergent reliability of the constructs. The average variance extracted was greater than the 0.50 standard for Dark Experience, Engaging Entertainment, Unique Learning Experience, Attitude, and Subjective Norm constructs. Behavioral Intention (0.49) and Casual Interest (0.48) had values that were borderline acceptable regarding convergent validity. The only construct that did not meet the standards of convergent validity testing was Perceived Behavioral Control (0.23). When testing for divergent validity, all square-root of average variance extracted calculations were greater than the inter-construct correlations indicating divergent validity was present in this study. Partial disaggregation of the variables resulted in a much stronger overall model fit. The RMSEA value was 0.08 indicating a strong model fit and the CFI (0.891) value was acceptable indicating a good model fit. The SRMR value (0.06, Table 4 ) also showed a strong model fit.

Hypothesis testing

Overall, most of the relationships between the dark tourism construct and the TPB constructs were significant. Results show that dark experience has a positive significant relationship with both attitudes (0.434) regarding tourists visiting a dark tourism destination and subjective norms (0.242, Table 5 ). Casual interest has a positive significant relationship with both attitudes (0.404) and subjective norm (0.330). Both engaging entertainment (−0.080; −0.217) and unique learning experience (0.152; −0.247) are not significantly associated with neither attitudes nor subjective norms . Results show that both attitudes (0.396) and perceived behavioral control (0.716) have a significant positive relationship with behavioral intention .

SEM testing was completed on the data. In addition to the significant and insignificant relationships indicated by the SEM testing, to answer some of the specific research questions asked by this study one must review the distinct question factor loadings to get those answers. A full set of the factor loadings of survey questions asked regarding dark tourism and TPB constructs are in Table 1 . A visualization of all hypothesis testing results is in Table 5 as well as on Figure 1 .

It can be concluded from the findings of this research that dark experience has a positive relationship with attitudes regarding tourists visiting a dark tourism location, indicating that Hypothesis 1 was fully supported. Tourists seek specific characteristics when choosing to visit a dark tourism destination. Akin to findings from Bissell (2009) , the reasons for visiting: I want to try something new and out of the ordinary as well as I am fascinated with abnormal and bizarre events were strong. Alone these two variables do not constitute wanting to experience dark tourism but suggest a curiosity about dark tourism and a desire for new experiences ( Seaton and Lennon, 2004 ). Individuals answered favorably to all questions related to interest in experiencing paranormal activity. Although Sharpley (2005) suggested “fascination with death” as a potential motive for tourists to visit dark tourism destinations, questions specifically related to death (i.e., to witness the act of death and dying , to satisfy personal curiosity about how the victims died ) , reveal that fascination with death and dying was not a strong motivating factor for the tourists' who participated in this research study. The positive relationships of dark experience with attitudes ( H1 ) and subjective norm ( H2 ) , respectively, implies that tourists are seeking experiences that satisfy curiosity or they are seeking interaction with the paranormal. Tourists seek a fun and enjoyable tourist experience by visiting dark tourism destinations, and do not feel pressured by societal norms of their friends and family, which may prevent them from visiting dark tourism destinations.

The engaging entertainment dimension regarding both attitude ( H3 ) and subjective ( H4 ) was not supported in this study, which is interesting considering the questions in this dimension were developed to determine the importance of the tourists connecting with the information presented at the destination while still having an enjoyable experience.

Like Raine (2013) , this study considered the unique learning experience dimension to include individuals who are hobbyists and are typically visiting these destinations solely for educational purposes and to not engage with the destination as a dark tourism site. To present an alternative consideration to the construct of unique learning experience, Seaton (1996) determined that the more attached a person was to a destination, the less likely they would be fascinated with death, resulting in the tourists not viewing the dark tourism destination as being “dark”. This thought process may be a possibility of explanation for why the relationships were negative between unique learning experience and the TPB constructs, resulting in both Hypothesis 5 and 6 not being supported. Farmaki (2013) strengthens this argument by determining that many tourists visit museums for the purpose of education, but museums will incorporate the concept of death to enhance the tourist experience.

Results from this study also indicate that participants of this study were not traveling to dark tourism destinations for educational purposes. Additionally, results indicate that individuals who were perhaps traveling for the purposes of unique learning experience had negative feelings or experiences with subjective norms, lending to the belief that their family and friends were not supportive of their choice to visit a dark tourism destination.

Raine (2013) discovered a group of tourists she classified as sightseers and passive recreationalists. These tourists can be themed as “incidental” as they were likely not seeking a dark tourism destination related to death and burials, but instead were looking for a destination to escape from everyday life. These statements can easily be supported by this research study as Hypotheses 7 and 8 were both positively supported in relationship to casual interest and attitudes ( H7 ) and subjective norm ( H8 ). The questions asked in this study specifically relate to value of tours, special promotions, and enjoying time with friends and family.

Individuals were seeking attitudinal experiences through their visits to dark tourism destinations, supporting Hypothesis 9 . Unlike the results from Lam and Hsu (2004) , subjective norms do play a role in behavioral intentions. This study found that the influence of societal norms and pressures do influence tourists' intention to visit dark tourism destinations, lending to Hypothesis 10 not being supported as expected. Regarding perceived behavioral control, when tourists feel capable and in control of their tourism choices, it will positively impact their behavioral intention or likelihood of visiting a dark tourism destination, supporting Hypothesis 11 .

Practical implications

Practitioners working in tourism industries and communities of dark tourism destinations can greatly benefit from the results of this study. Managers of dark tourism destinations must realize that visitors are attracted to these locations for many different reasons ( Bissell, 2009 ) and not just for fascination of death or paranormal activity. While this research does not focus specifically on individual motivating factors that influence behavior to visit, overarching attributes were determined to influence behavioral intentions more than others. The significant positive relationships found in this study between dark experience, unique learning experience, and casual interest suggest dark tourism destination managers offer a variety of tours and services to visitors and should be sensitive in how they display or present information so it does not come across as being offensive to tourists in the event they have strong emotional ties to the destination or individual(s) who may have been a victim at the destination.

Due to the broad nature of this study and its data collection efforts, the dark tourism locations visited by participants varied greatly. It can be concluded from the data that the use of television and contemporary media featuring dark tourism locations does positively influence tourists' behavioral intention to visit. Variables related to dark tourism destinations featured on television shows were more strongly favored in relationship to the dark experience construct than engaging entertainment. This indicates that tourists are curious about what they have seen on television or mass media and want to experience similar. Managers of dark tourism destinations featured on television shows should effectively market their locations as such to increase interest and tourism traffic to their destination. If paranormal tours are not currently being offered this would be a recommendation (if applicable) to generate more tourism interest.

Additionally, due to the increased popularity and reliance on websites and social media platforms for information, practitioners should register their location on dark tourism websites and registries so more curious travelers can easily locate them. Utilizing TripAdvisor.com and other similar travel websites is another option for practitioners to generate tourism interest to their destination. Making information readily available and easy to locate for tourists will continue to strengthen the relationship between perceived behavioral control and behavioral intention. Additionally, considering societal norms had a positive relationship with dark tourism constructs within this study, practitioners could market their destination as being taboo to tourists wanting to satisfy their rebellious curiosity.

Limitations and future research

This study has several limitations. Since the data was collected using Qualtrics Panels, potential participants are asked to self-report and assess whether they are eligible dark tourists for this study, based on given definition of dark tourism. Such self-assessment may not always be precise. If adopting this survey method, future research may consider asking participations to provide the specific dark tourism destination type that they have visited in the past 24 months, to help further confirm their eligibility for study participation. It is also recommended that if time and resources permit, future research consider collecting data on-site at dark tourism destinations. Also, this research study did not take into consideration the type of dark tourism destination visited by the respondents. Dark tourism destinations vary in the levels of violence and death that are associated with them ( Seaton, 1996 ; Stone, 2006 ). Future research can investigate additional motivational factors of tourists to visit dark tourism destinations with varying levels of darkness associated to them.

Most of the previous studies are case studies with historical battlefields and concentration camps being the hot spot for tourist activity. It is important and yet lacking to explore the general pattern of the association between motivations and visit intentions to dark tourism sites in general. Ryan and Kohli (2006) suggested there are differences between dark tourism destinations created by natural disasters (e.g., earthquakes in Sichuan, China; Biran et al. , 2014 ) and those that were sites of death at the hand of man (e.g., Auschwitz concentration camp). Moreover, Zhang et al. (2016) were among the few that explored the associated between motivation and association, but only on college students at one specific site. Although this study is inclusive of different dark tourist groups and dark tourism sites, future research may consider factoring in such difference in dark tourism destinations while exploring dark tourist motivations and visit intensions.

Conclusions

This study serves as exploratory research examining the association between tourist motivations and visit intentions and paves the way for future research in dark tourism. This study contributes to the dark tourism literature by proposing a new theoretical framework linking and extending dark tourism motivation construct with the Planned Behavior Construct. Study results can also benefit practitioners in dark tourism sector.

Graphic representation of theoretical framework and hypothesis testing results

Factor loadings for dark tourism variables

Partial disaggregation parcel groupings of TPB variables

Demographic characteristics of survey participants

CFAs of nested models

Full-data set hypothesis testing results

Ajzen , I. ( 1991 ), “ The theory of planned behavior ”, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes , Vol. 50 , pp. 179 - 211 .

Ajzen , I. and Driver , B.L. ( 1992 ), “ Application of the theory of planned behavior to leisure choice ”, Journal of Leisure Research , Vol. 24 No. 3 , pp. 207 - 224 .

Alegre , J. and Cladera , M. ( 2009 ), “ Analysing the effect of satisfaction and previous visits on tourist intentions to return ”, European Journal of Marketing , Vol. 43 Nos 5-6 , pp. 670 - 685 , doi: 10.1108/03090560910946990 .

Armitage , C.J. and Conner , M. ( 2001 ), “ Efficacy of the theory of planned behaviour: a meta-analytic review ”, British Journal of Social Psychology , Vol. 40 , pp. 471 - 499 .

Baloglu , S. ( 2000 ), “ A path analytic model of visitation intention involving information sources, socio-psychological motivations, and destination image ”, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing , Vol. 8 No. 3 , pp. 81 - 90 , doi: 10.1300/j073v08n03_05 .

Biran , A. , Poria , Y. and Oren , G. ( 2011 ), “ Sought experiences at dark heritage sites ”, Annals of Tourism Research , Vol. 38 , pp. 820 - 841 , doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2010.12.001 .

Biran , A. , Liu , W. , Li , G. and Eichhorn , V. ( 2014 ), “ Consuming post-disaster destinations: the case of Sichuan, China ”, Annals of Tourism Research , Vol. 47 , pp. 1 - 17 .

Bissell , L.J. ( 2009 ), Understanding Motivation and Perception at Two Dark Tourism Attractions in Winnipeg, MB , Thesis , University of Manitoba , Print .

Blom , T. ( 2000 ), “ Morbid tourism: a postmodern market niche with an example from Althorp ”, Norsk-Geografisk Tidsskrift--Norwegian Journal of Geography , Vol. 54 No. 1 , pp. 29 - 36 .

Bowman , M. and Pezzullo , P. ( 2009 ), “ What's so ‘dark’ about dark tourism?: death, tours, and performance ”, Tourist Studies , Vol. 9 No. 3 , pp. 187 - 202 .

Byrne , B.M. ( 1998 ), Structural Equation Modeling with LISREL, PRELIS, and SIMPLIS: Basic Concepts, Applications, and Programming , Lawrence Erlbaum , Mahwah, NJ .

Cheng , S. , Lam , T. and Hsu , C. ( 2006 ), “ Negative word-of-mouth communication intention: an application of the theory of planned behavior ”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research , Vol. 30 No. 1 , pp. 95 - 116 .

Conner , M. and Abraham , C. ( 2001 ), “ Conscientiousness and the theory of planned behavior: toward a more complete model of the antecedents of intentions and behavior ”, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin , Vol. 27 No. 11 , pp. 1547 - 1561 , doi: 10.1177/01461672012711014 .

Crompton , J.L. ( 1979 ), “ Motivations for pleasure vacation ”, Annals of Tourism Research , Vol. 6 No. 4 , pp. 408 - 424 .

Dale , C. and Robinson , N. ( 2011 ), “ Research themes for tourism ”, Dark Tourism , CABI , pp. 205 - 2017 .

Farmaki , A. ( 2013 ), “ Dark tourism revisited: a supply/demand conceptualisation ”, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research , Vol. 7 No. 3 , pp. 281 - 292 .

Fishbein , M. and Ajzen , I. ( 1975 ), Belief, Attitude, Intention, and Behavior: An Introduction to Theory and Research , Addison-Wesley , Reading, MA .

Foley , M. and Lennon , J. ( 1996 ), “ JFK and dark tourism: a fascination with assassination ”, International Journal of Heritage Studies , Vol. 2 No. 4 , pp. 198 - 211 .

Hair , J.F. , Black , W.C. , Babin , B.J. and Anderson , R.E. ( 2010 ), Multivariate Data Analysis , 7th ed. , Prentice Hall , Upper Saddle River, NJ .

Han , H. and Kim , Y. ( 2010 ), “ An investigation of green hotel customers' decision formation: developing an extended model of the theory of planned behavior ”, International Journal of Hospitality Management , Vol. 29 , pp. 659 - 668 .

Han , H. , Hsu , L. and Sheu , C. ( 2010 ), “ Application of the Theory of Planned Behavior to green hotel choice: testing the effect of environmental friendly activities ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 31 , pp. 325 - 334 .

Hu , L. and Bentler , P.M. ( 1999 ), “ Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis conventional criteria versus new alternatives ”, Structural Equation Modeling , Vol. 6 , pp. 1 - 55 .

Isaac , R.K. and Çakmak , E. ( 2014 ), “ Understanding visitor's motivation at sites of death and disaster: the case of former transit camp Westerbork, The Netherlands ”, Current Issues in Tourism , Vol. 17 No. 2 , pp. 164 - 179 , doi: 10.1080/13683500.2013.776021 .

Kamber , M. , Karafotias , T. and Tsitoura , T. ( 2016 ), “ Dark heritage tourism and the Sarajevo siege ”, Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change , Vol. 14 No. 3 , pp. 255 - 269 , doi: 10.1080/14766825.2016.1169346 .

Kline , R.B. ( 2005 ), Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling , 2nd ed. , Guilford Publications .

Kim , Y.H. , Kim , M. and Goh , B.K. ( 2011 ), “ An examination of food tourist’s behavior: using the modified theory of reasoned action ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 32 , pp. 1159 - 1165 .

Konu , H. and Laukkanen , T. ( 2010 ), “ Predictors of tourists’ wellbeing holiday intentions in Finland ”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management , Vol. 17 No. 1 , pp. 144 - 149 , doi: 10.1375/JHTM.17.1.144 .

Lam , T. and Hsu , C. ( 2004 ), “ Theory of planned behavior: potential travelers from China ”, Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research , Vol. 28 No. 4 , pp. 463 - 482 .

Lam , T. and Hsu , C. ( 2006 ), “ Predicting behavioral intention of choosing a travel destination ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 27 , pp. 589 - 599 .

Le , D.T. and Pearce , D.G. ( 2011 ), “ Segmenting visitors to battlefield sites: international visitors to the former demilitarized zone in Vietnam ”, Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing , Vol. 28 No. 4 , pp. 451 - 463 , doi: 10.1080/10548408.2011.571583 .

Lennon , J. and Foley , M. ( 1999 ), “ Interpretation of the unimaginable: the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C. and ‘dark tourism’ ”, Journal of Travel Research , Vol. 38 , pp. 46 - 50 .

Lennon , J. and Foley , M. ( 2000 ), Dark Tourism: The Attraction of Death and Disaster , Cengage Learning EMEA , Andover, Hampshire .

Light , D. ( 2017 ), “ Progress in dark tourism and thanatourism research: an uneasy relationship with heritage tourism ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 61 , pp. 275 - 301 , doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2017.01.011 .

Little , T.D. , Cunningham , W.A. and Shahar , G. ( 2002 ), “ To parcel or not to parcel: exploring the question, weighing the merits ”, Structural Equation Modeling , Vol. 9 No. 2 , pp. 151 - 173 .

Martini , A. and Buda , D.M. ( 2018 ), “ Dark tourism and affect: framing places of death and disaster ”, Current Issues in Tourism , Vol. 23 No. 6 , pp. 679 - 692 , doi: 10.1080/13683500.2018.1518972 .

Miles , W. ( 2002 ), “ Auschwitz: museum interpretation and darker tourism ”, Annals of Tourism Research , Vol. 29 No. 4 , pp. 1175 - 1178 .

Miller , D. and Gonzalez , C. ( 2013 ), “ When death is the destination: the business of death-tourism--despite legal and social implications ”, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research , Vol. 7 No. 3 , pp. 293 - 306 .

Molle , A. and Bader , C. ( 2014 ), “ Paranormal science from America to Italy: a case of cultural homogenisation ”, The Ashgate Research Companion to Paranormal Cultures , Ashgate , London , pp. 121 - 138 .

Mowatt , R.A. and Chancellor , C.H. ( 2011 ), “ Visiting death and life ”, Annals of Tourism Research , Vol. 38 No. 4 , pp. 1410 - 1434 , doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2011.03.012 .

Peterson , R.A. ( 1994 ), “ A meta-analysis of Cronbach's coefficient alpha ”, Journal of Consumer Research , Vol. 21 No. 2 , pp. 381 - 391 .

Poria , Y. , Butler , R. and Airey , D. ( 2004 ), “ Links between tourists, heritage, and reasons for visiting heritage sites ”, Journal of Travel Research , Vol. 43 , pp. 19 - 28 .

Poria , Y. , Reichel , A. and Biran , A. ( 2006 ), “ Heritage site perceptions and motivations to visit ”, Journal of Travel Research , Vol. 44 , pp. 318 - 326 .

Powell , R. , Kennell , J. and Barton , C. ( 2018 ), “ Dark cities: a dark tourism index for Europe's tourism cities, based on the analysis of DMO websites ”, International Journal of Tourism Cities , Vol. 4 No. 1 , pp. 4 - 21 , doi: 10.1108/ijtc-09-2017-0046 .

Raine , R. ( 2013 ), “ A dark tourist spectrum ”, International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research , Vol. 7 No. 3 , pp. 242 - 256 .

Robb , E.M. ( 2009 ), “ Violence and recreation: vacationing in the realm of dark tourism ”, Anthropology and Humanism , Vol. 34 No. 1 , pp. 51 - 60 .

Rojek , C. ( 1993 ), Ways of Escape: Modern Transformations in Leisure and Travel , Palgrave Macmillan .

Ryan , C. and Kohli , R. ( 2006 ), “ The Buried Village, New Zealand: an example of dark tourism? ”, Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research , Vol. 11 No. 3 , pp. 211 - 226 .

Seaton , A. ( 1996 ), “ Guided by the dark: from thanatopsis to thanatourism ”, International Journal of Heritage Studies , Vol. 2 No. 4 , pp. 234 - 244 .

Seaton , A. and Lennon , J.J. ( 2004 ), “ Thanatourism in the early 21st century: moral panics, ulterior motives and ulterior desires ”, in Singh , T. (Ed.), New Horizons in Tourism: Strange Experiences and Stranger Practices , CABI Publishing , Cambridge, MA , pp. 63 - 82 .

Sharpley , R. ( 2005 ), “ Travels to the edge of darkness: towards a typology of ‘dark tourism’ ”, in Aicken , M. , Page , S. and Ryan , C. (Eds), Taking Tourism to the Limits: Issues, Concepts, and Managerial Perspectives , Elsevier , pp. 215 - 226 .

Sharpley , R. and Stone , P. ( 2009 ), The Darker Side of Travel: The Theory and Practice of Dark Tourism , Channel View Publications , Bristol .

Stone , P.R. ( 2006 ), “ A Dark Tourism Spectrum: towards a typology of death and macabre related tourist sites, attractions and exhibitions ”, Tourism: An Interdisciplinary International Journal , Vol. 54 No. 2 , pp. 145 - 160 .

Strange , C. and Kempa , M. ( 2003 ), “ Shades of dark tourism: alcatraz and robben island ”, Annals of Tourism Research , Vol. 30 No. 2 , pp. 386 - 405 .

Swan , J. ( 1981 ), “ Disconfirmation of expectations and satisfaction with a retail service ”, Journal of Retailing , Vol. 57 No. 3 , pp. 49 - 66 .

Vazquez , D. and Xu , X. ( 2009 ), “ Investigating linkages between online purchase behaviour variables ”, International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management , Vol. 37 No. 5 , pp. 408 - 419 , doi: 10.1108/09590550910954900 .

Yan , B. , Zhang , J. , Zhang , H. , Lu , S. and Guo , Y. ( 2016 ), “ Investigating the motivation–experience relationship in a dark tourism space: a case study of the Beichuan earthquake relics, China ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 53 , pp. 108 - 121 , doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2015.09.014 .

Yankholmes , A. and McKercher , B. ( 2015 ), “ Understanding visitors to slavery heritage sites in Ghana ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 51 , pp. 22 - 32 , doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2015.04.003 .

Yoon , Y. and Uysal , M. ( 2005 ), “ An examination of the effects of motivation and satisfaction on destination loyalty: a structural model ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 26 No. 1 , pp. 45 - 56 , doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2003.08.016 .

Zhang , H. , Yang , Y. , Zheng , C. and Zhang , J. ( 2016 ), “ Too dark to revisit? The role of past experiences and intrapersonal constraints ”, Tourism Management , Vol. 54 , pp. 452 - 464 , doi: 10.1016/j.tourman.2016.01.002 .

Further reading

Krisjanous , J. ( 2016 ), “ An exploratory multimodal discourse analysis of dark tourism websites: communicating issues around contested sites ”, Journal of Destination Marketing and Management , Vol. 5 No. 4 , pp. 341 - 350 , doi: 10.1016/j.jdmm.2016.07.005 .

Lennon , J. ( 2005 ), “ Journeys in understanding what is dark tourism? ”, The Sunday Observer , Vol. 23 October , available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2005/oct/23/darktourism.observerscapesection .

Corresponding author

Related articles, all feedback is valuable.

Please share your general feedback

Report an issue or find answers to frequently asked questions

Contact Customer Support

Academia.edu no longer supports Internet Explorer.

To browse Academia.edu and the wider internet faster and more securely, please take a few seconds to  upgrade your browser .

Enter the email address you signed up with and we'll email you a reset link.

• We're Hiring!
• Help Center

Download Free PDF

Consumption, motivation and experience in dark tourism: a conceptual and critical analysis

2021, Tourism Geographies

A review of recent relevant literature related to dark tourism indicates that there is a growing academic interest in ‘dark tourism consumption’, ‘dark tourism motivation’ and ‘dark tourism experience’. Therefore, the objectives of the present research are threefold: to examine the progress of research on these three concepts; to give a critical analysis of recent research; and to identify research gaps and questions that require fuller examination. In order to adopt new research orientations, the use of a broader post-disciplinary research framework is in need. The findings reveal that the three concepts are evolving and advancing, and new researches push the boundaries of exploration into new directions. From the analysis of recent literature, it can be concluded that thanatopsis is a rare characteristic of tourist visits. This is in contrast to the early conceptual studies, which claim that death is the primary motive for visiting dark sites. The findings reveal that many visitors are motivated by the desire and an interest in cultural heritage, learning, education, understanding about what happened at the dark site etc. It is important to emphasise that these motivations are affected by internal conflicts that the experience generates. Tourist experience is more in line with that of a mainstream heritage sites. In general, if tourists do not experience a site as dark, then they cannot be called dark tourists. Hence, the present research appeals to a clearer distinction of the ‘dark tourists’ based on experience. Except for the ‘mortality mediation model’, ‘dystopian dark tourism’ and ‘Terror Management Theory’, there are limit efforts to understand tourists at dark sites. Therefore, scientists must propose new approaches and additional empirical researches to prove that interest in death is a key motive for visiting dark sites. Lastly, from the literature review, new directions for further research have emerged.

Related papers

eReview of Tourism Research, 2005

ATITHYA: A Journal of Hospitality, 2017

Tourism is a multifaceted sector, which is manifested in various forms, including dark tourism. Of late there seem to be an increase in the number of tourist opting for Dark Tourism. This paper studies the motivating factors that influence tourists to visit places that have a past which may be haunted, have a sinister past or is related to death.

Dark tourism has been recognised as a distinctive tourism phenomenon of the twenty-first century, with increasingly significant numbers of visitors and tourists going to dark tourism attractions and sites, new dark tourism products and attractions emerging, and modern global communication media generating interest in dark tourism attractions, while at the same time affecting the image of destinations. The phenomenon of dark tourism has been examined in academia from the mid-1990s; however, it remains one of the less developed areas of tourism and leisure research. Not surprisingly, knowledge of the experiences of visitors and tourists at dark tourism attractions and sites is both theoretically fragile and limited. In redressing this omission in tourism and leisure research, this study examines the effect of enduring involvement and socio-demographic variables on visitor experiences and benefits gained at a contemporary dark tourism site. The focus of the study is the April 3rd Peace Park on Jeju Island, South Korea, a site commemorating and memorialising one of the most destructive episodes in modern Korean history. In doing so, the study developed a theoretical framework for understanding visitor experiences at dark tourism sites, using a benefits-based approach along with the concept of enduring involvement. This approach provides a framework for comprehending visitors‘ dark tourism experiences by identifying reasons for visit, on-site experiences, and benefits gained from these experiences. Enduring involvement is applied to investigate the effect of a visitor‘s ‗personal connection‘ to the tragic event when it comes to their experiences at the site. The April 3rd Peace Park on Jeju Island commemorates a violent political conflict, which began on April 3rd in 1948, and resulted in 30,000 of the inhabitants dead or missing. The park was inaugurated in 2008 for the purposes of education, commemoration, and reconciliation within the Jeju community, in which the family and relatives of both victims and perpetrators still live. The research employs qualitative and quantitative research methods to explore visitor experiences. In its qualitative component, 46 semi-structured interviews were conducted between September and October 2008 in order to identify reasons for visit, the cognitive and affective on-site experiences of visitors and the benefits gained from their visit. This data was utilised in the construction of a site-specific questionnaire. In the quantitative component, self-administered questionnaires and face-to-face interviews were conducted from June 23 to July 31, 2009. A total of 407 valid questionnaires, out of 450 distributed, were utilised to test 16 hypotheses derived from the theoretical framework. The results indicate that a benefits-based approach was effective in exploring visitors‘ dark tourism experiences. With this approach, a sense of obligation or personal duty was identified as one of the key reasons for visiting the site. Emotional experiences were also found to be important, and likely to lead to the visitors‘ benefits gained. However, results also indicate a benefits-based approach was not effective for segmentation of visitors. In relation to enduring involvement, visitor experiences and benefits gained from experiencing the site and its history were found to differ significantly based on visitors‘ level of enduring involvement. High involvement visitors were more likely to recall actual memories of the April 3rd incident, as opposed to acquiring knowledge of it or related issues at the site itself, in stark contrast with low involvement visitors. These differences in visitor experiences and benefits gained were due therefore to visitors‘ prior knowledge of and familiarity with the incident. The results of the study also indicate that high involvement visitors are more likely to be elderly, to reside locally, to be connected to the incident, or to have higher levels of education. Low involvement visitors on the other hand are more likely to be young, non-local, and with generally lower levels of education. The study concludes that an effective way of understanding dark tourism experiences from a theoretical perspective is to apply both a benefits-based approach and the concept of enduring involvement.

Tourism: An Interdisciplinary International Journal, 2006

Enlightening Tourism: A Pathmaking Journal, 2022

Korstanje M E (2016) Towards a new horizon of dark tourism studies". Korstanje M E & Handayani B eds Gazing at Death: Dark Tourism as an Emergent Horizon of Research. New York, Nova Science Pubs This chapter discusses on the needs of introducing new methodologies in dark tourism fields. At the same time, it is necessary to revisit the limitations and controversies in the current specialized literature. Because of dark tourism arose as an emergent theme in tourism academy, scholars have little information on this theme. We juxtaposed my own experience in the fieldwork as researchers with the outcomes of colleagues who have delved in dark tourism site. We discuss the preliminary outcomes of some authorative voices as Phillip Stone, Richard Sharpley and Anthony Seaton. They start from a biased diagnosis of Thanaptosis which merits to be discussed. In this essay we hold the thesis that knowledge-production in this field stagnated because of two main reasons. Firstly, scholars do not dissociate what is cognition from emotionality, confusing perception with interpretation. Secondly, fieldworkers over-valorize some obstructive methods as questionnaires or formal interviews over qualitative viewpoints. Helping to expand their current understanding of dark tourism, this work dissects on what are the next horizons for research. Dark tourism studies, nowadays, lack of concise epistemological discussion to understand " thanaptosis, " as well * [email protected].

“As mortal finite beings, as we shall live so we shall die” (Stone 2006, p. 147). We all start with a beginning, middle and an end. The end is a fascination which concurs with fear. Death is unavoidable, and the only option is acceptance. However, to what extent can the object of fascination test the boundaries of human nature when it comes to dark tourism? One must ask, does the aspect of fear, give credence to dark tourism; a phenomenon that provokes a conversation about the past, ethics and the inevitable, death (Niemala, 2010). The generation of fear is a positive reaction to the museum exhibits, as it fulfils a demand in the necessity to know our own past; the fear of the unknown; the afterlife. However, is it easier for the exhibit to reveal a personal identity, in order for the remains to be easily accepted? It takes careful consideration on how the remains are treated, and what ethical standpoint do the museums have, especially with regards to the Museums Association’s Code of Ethics. National Museum Wales defines human remains to signify the bodies, and parts of bodies, of once living people from the species Homo Sapiens (2006). In many ways, the descriptive manner of Goulding’s ‘Body Worlds’ (2013), would at first repel the reader, due to the graphic nature and the mannerisms it includes. However, down to human curiosity, the reader would find the content fascinating, yet filled with descriptive manner of the content such as the “fat man’s sliced epidermis like a slice of bacon” (p. 319). In spite of this notion, what individuals fear, is what we all have in common. However, as a society we are enthralled by that we fear. Nevertheless, the symbolism of fear of the unknown emphasise the need to be part of the “immortal memory” (O'Neill 2012, p. 62), in order to signify that the individual’s life had meaning, and a sense of validation. The fear of death itself is down to the fear of the unknown. Even after death, the individual still lives, not in the literal sense, but in the donation of the human body (Goulding 2013: 318). In spite of this, dark tourism is simply a manifestation of consumer demand (Stone, 2006: 145), where Stone adds, the supply and the demands to fulfil these curiosities are down to reasons such as politics, remembrance purposes, for education, for entertainment or for economic gain (p. 148). Where both dark tourism and thanatourism are concerned, the visitation of such sites from individuals arises from a movement at which encountering death becomes a significant experience (Johnston, 2013). Dark tourism has been generally described as tourism involving locations associated with death and great suffering (Gibson, 2006: 47). On the other hand, thanatourism is a ‘mediating’ process which allows a safe and acceptable link with the dead (Stone, 2012). The fear and curiosity of death, one can argue is due to religion, due to the changes in attitudes and beliefs in regards to the afterlife. As O’Neill (2012) states, the worldview about the afterlife are not completely stable (p. 59). This is a perfectly justifiable assumption, as there is no unanimous decision on the afterlife. However, does this mean that these exhibits are any less humane? In an exhibit such as ‘Body Worlds’, one must ask, if you remove the sense of humanness in an exhibit, would it then make the exhibits easier to be accepted and absorbed by the visitor? Haslam (2006) states the two forms of dehumanization; denying the individual a sense of humanness by removing any characteristics that are uniquely human; the denial of characteristics that constitute human nature. With objects, museums should carefully assess their value and reasonably foreseeable potential for research, teaching and display (DCMS, 2005). Education and the demonstration of awareness of dehumanization are culturally important to show an understanding of the idea of human mortality. The museum fatigue reflects the struggle of bringing the objects of the dead to life, and to suppressing thoughts of death to which they give rise. (O’Neill 2012: 62). However, likewise make significant contributions to the resultant interest of the visitors in the object (Melton, 1972). In addition, to challenging the human perspective of death, Maleuvre believes that a challenging and an upset of our comfort zone is the purpose of education (2012: 117).Whereas zoos have a high advantage if it is visually pleasing, sufficiently entertaining and the animal presentations offer enough scientific realism (Grazian, 2012, p. 548). However, although zoos are not often thought of as a museum in itself, they still hold the same purpose, primarily to educate and entertain. Nonetheless, issues of exhibiting both human and animal remains reflects the limitations and boundaries museums take in order to fulfil the need to educate concurrently. This limitation relates to the spiritual beliefs of the community where the exhibit originated. The Code of Ethics states that research on human remains must take into account the interest and beliefs of the community, ethnic or religious groups from whom the objects originated, where these are known (Besterman, 2007: 26). This question of boundaries is due to one commonality, identity. If recognition of one’s heritage by others is key, then the object is ultimately not a sin qua non of a people’s identity (Shapiro, 1998). In terms of cataloguing, the Museums Association stress that a greater transparency from museums holding human remains, including the publication of detailed information of remains in their collections, is an important step forward (2005). To summarise, the limitations of what we can educate and entertain for individual and scientific purposes, is the limit to what the museum itself wants us to see. The museum fatigue, demonstrates the fear museums hold around this subject; demonstrating a variation of views. The perception of death we deal on a daily level. One must ask to what ethical standpoint we can exhibit death as a normal feature in our lives. In general, museums have the responsibility in looking after these exhibits, and the way that they are treated is primarily the issue for the ethical standpoint, as the truth is, we have not fully accepted these exhibits, just as we, as a society have not accepted the concept of death. Bibliography Besterman, T., 2007. Report to the Board of Trustees of the British Museum: repatriation claim for Māori kōiwi tangata. [Online] Available at: https://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/00%2022%20Tristram%20Besterman%20report%20dated%20April%2007.pdf [Accessed 20 October 2014]. DCMS, 2005. Guidance for the Care of Human Remains in Museums. [Online] Available at: https://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/DCMS%20Guide.pdf [Accessed 20 October 2014]. Gibson, D., 2006. The Relationship between Serial Murder and the American Tourism Industry. Journal of Travel and Tourism Marketing, 20(1), pp. 45-60. Goulding, C., Saran, M. & Lindridge, A., 2013. Reading the Body at Von Hagen's 'Body Worlds'. Annals of Tourism Research, Volume 40, pp. 306-330. Grazian, D., 2012. Where the Wild Things Aren't: Exhibiting Nature in American Zoos. The Sociology Quarterly, Volume 53, pp. 546-565. Haslam, N., 2006. Dehumanization: An Integrative Review. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10(3), pp. 252-264. Johnston, T., 2013. Mark Twain and The Innocents Abroad: illuminating the tourist gaze on death. International Journal of Culture, Tourism and Hospitality Research, 7 (3), pp. 199-213. Maleuvre, D., 2012. Muse Museums Be Inclusive?. Journal of Educational Media, Memory, and Society, 4(2), pp. 112-125. Melton, A. M., 1972. Visitor Behavior in Museums: Some Early Research in Environmental Design. Human Factors, 14(5), pp. 393-403. Museum Association, 2005. Response to consultation on the draft code of conduct for the Care of Human Remains. [Online] Available at: http://www.museumsassociation.org/policy/01072005-response-to-consultation-on-draft-code-of-conduct-for-care-human-remains-in-museums [Accessed 19 October 2014]. National Museum Wales, 2006. Collections Management Policies - Policy on Human Remains. [Online] Available at: https://www.museumwales.ac.uk/1181/ [Accessed 12 October 2014]. Niemala, T., 2010. Motivation Factors in Dark Tourism. [Online] Available at: https://publications.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/14984/Niemela_Titta.pdf?sequence=3 [Accessed 20 November 2014]. O'Neill, M., 2012. Museums and Mortality. Material Religion, 8(1), pp. 52-75. Shapiro, D., 1998. Repatriation: A Modest Proposal. New York University Journal of International Law and Politics, Volume 31, pp. 95-108. Stone, P., 2006. A dark tourism spectrum: Towards a typology of death and macabre related tourist sites, attractions and exhibitions. [Online] Available at: http://works.bepress.com/philip_stone/4 [Accessed 18 October 2014]. Stone, P. R., 2012. Dark Tourism and Significant Other Death: Towards a Model of Mortality Mediation. Annals of Tourism Research, 39(5), pp. 1565-1587.

Tourist Studies, 2020

While dark tourism aimed at adults reminds them of past tragic fights, faults and follies, thousands of children and youth also consume inherent memorial messages at dark tourism sites. This paper addresses these unnoticed childhood encounters, about which scholarly discourse remains conspicuously silent. At present, dark tourism research focuses almost exclusively on adults and does not adequately explain young tourists’ experiences. How children experience dark tourism sites has much to do with their understanding of death. Because younger children may not possess an adult-like knowledge of death, they are unable to experience a site as dark. Other theoretical disparities include children’s limited agency in choosing their destinations and their unique and often playful exploration of dark places. To address the inadequacy of current dark tourism conceptualisations, we propose a new framework to encourage scholarly interrogation of children’s experiences at dark tourism sites. Dra...

Despite increasing academic attention paid to dark tourism, understanding of the concept remains limited, particularly from a consumption perspective. That is, the literature focuses primarily on the supply of dark tourism; less attention, however, has been paid to the demand for ‘dark’ touristic experiences. This theoretical paper seeks to address this gap in the literature. Drawing upon the contemporary sociology of death, it explores the relationship between socio-cultural perspectives on mortality and the potential of dark tourism as a means of confronting death in modern societies. In so doing, it proposes a model of dark tourism consumption within a thanatological framework as a basis for further theoretical and empirical analysis of dark tourism.

Loading Preview

Sorry, preview is currently unavailable. You can download the paper by clicking the button above.

Journal of Tourism History, 2018

The Palgrave Handbook of Dark Tourism Studies, 2018

European Journal of Tourism Research, 2018

Journal of APF Command and Staff College

Annals of Tourism Research, 2011

Hungarian Geographical Bulletin

Annals of Tourism Research, 2012

Journal of Vacation Marketing, 2006

Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change

Journal of tourism management research, 2024

Tourism and Hospitality Research, 2018

Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Education, 2021

Related topics

•   We're Hiring!
•   Help Center
• Find new research papers in:
• Health Sciences
• Earth Sciences
• Cognitive Science
• Mathematics
• Computer Science
• Academia ©2024

Information

• Author Services

Initiatives

You are accessing a machine-readable page. In order to be human-readable, please install an RSS reader.

All articles published by MDPI are made immediately available worldwide under an open access license. No special permission is required to reuse all or part of the article published by MDPI, including figures and tables. For articles published under an open access Creative Common CC BY license, any part of the article may be reused without permission provided that the original article is clearly cited. For more information, please refer to https://www.mdpi.com/openaccess .

Feature papers represent the most advanced research with significant potential for high impact in the field. A Feature Paper should be a substantial original Article that involves several techniques or approaches, provides an outlook for future research directions and describes possible research applications.

Feature papers are submitted upon individual invitation or recommendation by the scientific editors and must receive positive feedback from the reviewers.

Editor’s Choice articles are based on recommendations by the scientific editors of MDPI journals from around the world. Editors select a small number of articles recently published in the journal that they believe will be particularly interesting to readers, or important in the respective research area. The aim is to provide a snapshot of some of the most exciting work published in the various research areas of the journal.

Original Submission Date Received: .

• Active Journals
• Find a Journal
• Journal Proposal
• Proceedings Series
• For Authors
• For Reviewers
• For Editors
• For Librarians
• For Publishers
• For Societies
• For Conference Organizers
• Open Access Policy
• Institutional Open Access Program
• Special Issues Guidelines
• Editorial Process
• Research and Publication Ethics
• Article Processing Charges
• Testimonials
• Preprints.org
• SciProfiles
• Encyclopedia

Article Menu

• Subscribe SciFeed
• Recommended Articles
• PubMed/Medline
• Google Scholar
• on Google Scholar
• Table of Contents

Find support for a specific problem in the support section of our website.

Please let us know what you think of our products and services.

Visit our dedicated information section to learn more about MDPI.

JSmol Viewer

Dark tourists: profile, practices, motivations and wellbeing.

1. Introduction

2. theoretical background, 2.1. dark tourists and their motivation to dark tourism consumption, 2.2. dark tourist personality, 2.3. research questions, 3. materials and methods, 3.1. procedures, 3.2. instruments.

• Sociodemographic questionnaire
• Questionnaire about dark tourism’s practices
• Questionnaire about dark tourism´s motivations
• Rumination on Sadness Scale (RSS)
• Self-Hatred Scale (SHS)
• BSI Hostility Scale (HSS)
• Psychological Vulnerability Scale (PVS)
• Tourism Wellbeing Scale (TWS)

3.3. Data Analysis

5. discussion, 6. conclusions, author contributions, institutional review board statement, informed consent statement, data availability statement, conflicts of interest.

• Stone, P.R. A dark tourism spectrum: Towards a typology of death and macabre related tourist sites, attractions and exhibitions. Tour. Int. Interdiscip. J. 2006 , 54 , 145–160. [ Google Scholar ]
• Farmaki, A. Dark tourism revisited: A supply/demand conceptualisation. Int. J. Cult. Tour. Hosp. Res. 2013 , 7 , 281–292. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sharpley, R.; Stone, P.R. The Darker Side of Travel: The Theory and Practice of Dark Tourism ; Channel View Publications: Bristol, UK, 2009. [ Google Scholar ]
• Iliev, D. Consumption, motivation and experience in dark tourism: A conceptual and critical analysis. Tour. Geogr. 2020 , 23 , 963–984. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Martini, A.; Buda, D.M. Dark tourism and affect: Framing places of death and disaster. Curr. Issues Tour. 2020 , 23 , 679–692. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Hartmann, R.; Lennon, J.; Reynolds, D.P.; Rice, A.; Rosenbaum, A.T.; Stone, P.R. The history of dark tourism. J. Tour. Hist. 2018 , 10 , 269–295. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Biran, A.; Poria, Y.; Oren, G. Sought experiences at (dark) heritage sites. Ann. Tour. Res. 2011 , 38 , 820–841. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Buda, D.M. Affective Tourism: Dark Routes in Conflict , 1st ed.; Routledge: London, UK, 2015. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Cohen, E.H. Educational dark tourism at an in populo site: The Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem. Ann. Tour. Res. 2011 , 38 , 193–209. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Tarlow, P. Dark tourism: The appealing ‘dark’side of tourism and more. In Niche Tourism: Contemporary Issues, Trends and Cases , 1st ed.; Novelli, M., Ed.; Routledge: London, UK, 2005; pp. 61–72. [ Google Scholar ]
• Coutinho, B.; Baptista, M.M. Há morte nas catacumbas? Perceções de visitantes de uma atração de turismo negro. Rev. Tur. Desenvolv. 2014 , 4 , 493–503. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ashworth, G.J.; Isaac, R.K. Have we illuminated the dark? Shifting perspectives on ‘dark’ tourism. Tour. Recreat. Res. 2015 , 40 , 316–325. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Walter, T. Dark tourism: Mediating between the dead and the living. In The Darker Side of Travel ; Channel View Publications: Bristol, UK, 2009; pp. 39–55. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Seaton, A.V. Guided by the dark: From thanatopsis to thanatourism. Int. J. Herit. Stud. 1996 , 2 , 234–244. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Biran, A.; Liu, W.; Li, G.; Eichhorn, V. Consuming post-disaster destinations: The case of Sichuan, China. Ann. Tour. Res. 2014 , 47 , 1–17. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Best, M. Norfolk Island: Thanatourism, history and visitor emotions. Shima Int. J. Res. Isl. Cult. 2007 , 1 , 30–48. [ Google Scholar ]
• Isaac, R.K.; Çakmak, E. Understanding visitor’s motivation at sites of death and disaster: The case of former transit camp Westerbork, the Netherlands. Curr. Issues Tour. 2014 , 17 , 164–179. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Light, D. Progress in dark tourism and thanatourism research: An uneasy relationship with heritage tourism. Tour. Manag. 2017 , 61 , 275–301. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Nhlabathi, S.S.; Maharaj, B. The dark tourism discipline: A creative brand in a competitive academic environment? Curr. Issues Tour. 2020 , 23 , 2428–2439. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Isaac, R.K.; Nawijn, J.; van Liempt, A.; Gridnevskiy, K. Understanding Dutch visitors’ motivations to concentration camp memorials. Curr. Issues Tour. 2019 , 22 , 747–762. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Ashworth, G.J. Tourism and the heritage of atrocity: Managing the heritage of South African apartheid for entertainment. In New Horizons in Tourism: Strange Experiences and Stranger Practices ; Singh, T.V., Ed.; CABI Publishing: Wallingford, CT, USA, 2004; pp. 95–108. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Podoshen, J.S. Dark tourism in an increasingly violent world. In The Palgrave Handbook of Dark Tourism Studies ; Stone, P.R., Hartmann, R., Seaton, T., Sharpley, R., White, L., Eds.; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 2018; pp. 173–187. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Slade, P. Gallipoli thanatourism: The meaning of ANZAC. Ann. Tour. Res. 2003 , 30 , 779–794. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Yan, B.-J.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, H.-L.; Lu, S.-J.; Guo, Y.-R. Investigating the motivation–experience relationship in a dark tourism space: A case study of the Beichuan earthquake relics, China. Tour. Manag. 2016 , 53 , 108–121. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Prentice, R.; Andersen, V. Interpreting heritage essentialisms: Familiarity and felt history. Tour. Manag. 2007 , 28 , 661–676. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sharpley, R.; Stone, P. (Eds.) Contemporary Tourism Experience ; Routledge: New York, NY, USA, 2012; Volume 96, p. 109. [ Google Scholar ]
• Ashworth, G.; Hartmann, R. Horror and Human Tragedy Revisited: The Management of Sites of Atrocities for Tourism ; Cognizant Communication Corporation: Elmsford, NY, USA, 2005. [ Google Scholar ]
• Blom, T. Morbid tourism-a postmodern market niche with an example from Althorp. Nor. Geogr. Tidsskr. 2000 , 54 , 29–36. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Johnston, J.L. Branded entertainment: The old is new again and more complicated than ever. J. Spons. 2009 , 2 , 170–175. [ Google Scholar ]
• Lennon, J.J.; Foley, M. Dark tourism: The attraction of death and disaster. Ann. Tour. Res. 2002 , 29 , 1188–1189. [ Google Scholar ]
• Çoban, F. Political Reflections on dark tourism: The case of Turkey. In Virtual Traumascapes and Exploring the Roots of Dark Tourism ; Korstanje, M., George, B., Eds.; IGI Global: Hershey, PA, USA, 2018; pp. 99–125. [ Google Scholar ]
• Jovanovic, T.; Mijatov, M.; Šuligoj, M. Does a visitor of dark tourism sites have a dark personality? A study of potential visitors of dark tourism sites in Serbia. Primenj. Psihol. 2021 , 14 , 407–442. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Nørfelt, A.; Kock, F.; Karpen, I.O.; Josiassen, A. Pleasure through Pain: An Empirical Examination of Benign Masochism in Tourism. J. Travel Res. 2022 . [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Christou, P.A. Philosophies of Hospitality and Tourism: Giving and Receiving ; Channel View Publications: Bristol, UK, 2020. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Conway, M.; Csank, P.A.; Holm, S.L.; Blake, C.K. On assessing individual differences in rumination on sadness. J. Pers. Assess. 2000 , 75 , 404–425. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Nolen-Hoeksema, S.; Morrow, J. A prospective study of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms after a natural disaster: The 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 1991 , 61 , 115. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Derlega, V.J.; Metts, S.; Petronio, S.; Margulis, S.T. Self-Disclosure ; Sage Publications, Inc.: Newbury Park, CA, USA, 1993. [ Google Scholar ]
• Stanton, A.L.; Danoff-Burg, S.; Cameron, C.L.; Ellis, A.P. Coping through emotional approach: Problems of conceptualizaton and confounding. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 1994 , 66 , 350. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Turnell, A.I.; Fassnacht, D.B.; Batterham, P.J.; Calear, A.L.; Kyrios, M. The Self-Hate Scale: Development and validation of a brief measure and its relationship to suicidal ideation. J. Affect. Disord. 2019 , 245 , 779–787. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Derogatis, L.R.; Melisaratos, N. The brief symptom inventory: An introductory report. Psychol. Med. 1983 , 13 , 595–605. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ Green Version ]
• Spielberger, C. State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory ; Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.: Odessa, FL, USA, 1988. [ Google Scholar ]
• Deffenbacher, J.L.; Oetting, E.R.; Thwaites, G.A.; Lynch, R.S.; Baker, D.A.; Stark, R.S.; Thacker, S.; Eiswerth-Cox, L. State–trait anger theory and the utility of the trait anger scale. J. Couns. Psychol. 1996 , 43 , 131. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sinclair, V.G.; Wallston, K.A. Psychological vulnerability predicts increases in depressive symptoms in individuals with rheumatoid arthritis. Nurs. Res. 2010 , 59 , 140–146. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ] [ PubMed ]
• Sinclair, V.G.; Wallston, K.A. The development and validation of the Psychological Vulnerability Scale. Cogn. Ther. Res. 1999 , 23 , 119–129. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sharma, N.; Rickly, J.M. Self-care for the researcher: Dark tourism in Varanasi, India. J. Teach. Travel Tour. 2018 , 18 , 41–57. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Canavarro, M.C. Inventário de Sintomas Psicopatológicos (BSI): Uma revisão crítica dos estudos realizados em Portugal. [Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI): A critical review of studies carried out in Portugal]. Avaliação Psicológica Instrum. Validados Popul. Port. 2007 , 3 , 305–331. [ Google Scholar ]
• Nogueira, M.J.; Barros, L.; Sequeira, C. Psychometric properties of the psychological vulnerability scale in higher education students. J. Am. Psychiatr. Nurses Assoc. 2017 , 23 , 215–222. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Garcês, S.; Pocinho, M.; Jesus, S. Development of the Tourism Wellbeing Scale. Rev. Divulg. Científica-AICA 2018 , 10 , 55–63. [ Google Scholar ]
• Garcês, S.; Pocinho, M.; Jesus, S.N. Psychometric Analysis of the Tourism Wellbeing Scale (TWS): A multidisciplinary approach. An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc. 2020 , 92 , e20190232. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Kline, R.B. Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling ; Guilford Publications: New York, NY, USA, 2015. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Cohen, J. Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences , 2nd ed.; Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers: Hillsdale, NJ, USA, 1988. [ Google Scholar ]
• Millán, G.D.; Rojas, R.D.H.; García, J.S.-R. Analysis of the demand of dark tourism: A case study in Córdoba (Spain). Mediterr. J. Soc. Sci. 2019 , 10 , 161. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Proos, E.; Hattingh, J. Dark tourism: Growth potential of niche tourism in the Free State Province, South Africa. Dev. South. Afr. 2022 , 39 , 303–320. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Collins-Kreiner, N. Dark tourism as/is pilgrimage. Curr. Issues Tour. 2016 , 19 , 1185–1189. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Bonnie, R.J.; Stroud, C.; Breiner, H. Investing in the Health and Well-Being of Young Adults ; National Academies Press: Washington, DC, USA, 2014. [ Google Scholar ]
• Bond, M.; Marín, V.I.; Dolch, C.; Bedenlier, S.; Zawacki-Richter, O. Digital transformation in German higher education: Student and teacher perceptions and usage of digital media. Int. J. Educ. Technol. High. Educ. 2018 , 15 , 48. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sigala, M.; Steriopoulos, E. Does emotional engagement matter in dark tourism? Implications drawn from a reflective approach. J. Herit. Tour. 2021 , 16 , 412–432. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Morten, R.; Stone, P.R.; Jarratt, D. Dark tourism as psychogeography: An initial exploration. In The Palgrave Handbook of Dark Tourism Studies ; Stone, P.R., Hartmann, R., Seaton, T., Sharpley, R., White, L., Eds.; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 2018; pp. 227–255. [ Google Scholar ]
• Korstanje, M.E. The dark tourist: Consuming dark spaces in the periphery. In Tourism, Terrorism and Security ; Korstanje, M.E., Seraphin, H., Eds.; Emerald Publishing Limited: Bingley, UK, 2020; pp. 135–150. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Stone, P.; Sharpley, R. Consuming dark tourism: A thanatological perspective. Ann. Tour. Res. 2008 , 35 , 574–595. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Kidron, C.A. Being there together: Dark family tourism and the emotive experience of co-presence in the holocaust past. Ann. Tour. Res. 2013 , 41 , 175–194. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Narvaez, D.; Wang, L.; Cheng, Y. The evolved developmental niche in childhood: Relation to adult psychopathology and morality. Appl. Dev. Sci. 2016 , 20 , 294–309. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Genç, R. Subjective aspects of tourists’ quality-of-life (QOL). In Handbook of Tourism and Quality-of-Life Research ; Uysal, M., Perdue, R.R., Sirgy, M.J., Eds.; Springer: Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, 2012; pp. 149–167. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Totsune, T.; Matsudaira, I.; Taki, Y. Curiosity–tourism interaction promotes subjective wellbeing among older adults in Japan. Humanit. Soc. Sci. Commun. 2021 , 8 , 69. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Johnston, T. The geographies of thanatourism. Geography 2015 , 100 , 20–27. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Seaton, A.V.; Lennon, J.J. Thanatourism in the early 21st century: Moral panics, ulterior motives and alterior desires. In New Horizons in Tourism: Strange Experiences and Stranger Practices ; Singh, T.V., Ed.; CABI Publishing: Wallingford, CT, USA, 2004; pp. 63–82. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Heitmann, S. Tourist behaviour and tourism motivation. In Research Themes for Tourism ; Robinson, P., Heitmann, S., Dieke, P., Eds.; CABI Publishing: Wallingford, CT, USA, 2011; pp. 31–44. [ Google Scholar ]
• Cutting, J. Morbid objectivization in psychopathology. Acta Psychiatr. Scand. 1999 , 99 , 30–33. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Nawijn, J.; Biran, A. Negative emotions in tourism: A meaningful analysis. Curr. Issues Tour. 2019 , 22 , 2386–2398. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Sharpley, R. Travels to the edge of darkness: Towards a typology of “dark tourism”. In Taking Tourism to the Limits ; Ryan, C., Page, S.J., Aicken, M., Eds.; Routledge: London, UK, 2006; pp. 239–250. [ Google Scholar ]
• Buda, D.M. The death drive in tourism studies. Ann. Tour. Res. 2015 , 50 , 39–51. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Buda, D.M.; Shim, D. Desiring the dark: A taste for the unusual’in North Korean tourism? Curr. Issues Tour. 2015 , 18 , 1–6. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]
• Buda, D.M.; McIntosh, A.J. Dark tourism and voyeurism: Tourist arrested for “spying” in Iran. Int. J. Cult. Tour. Hosp. Res. 2013 , 7 , 214–226. [ Google Scholar ] [ CrossRef ]

Click here to enlarge figure

Share and Cite

Magano, J.; Fraiz-Brea, J.A.; Leite, Â. Dark Tourists: Profile, Practices, Motivations and Wellbeing. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022 , 19 , 12100. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912100

Magano J, Fraiz-Brea JA, Leite Â. Dark Tourists: Profile, Practices, Motivations and Wellbeing. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health . 2022; 19(19):12100. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912100

Magano, José, José A. Fraiz-Brea, and Ângela Leite. 2022. "Dark Tourists: Profile, Practices, Motivations and Wellbeing" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 19: 12100. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191912100

Article Metrics

Article access statistics, further information, mdpi initiatives, follow mdpi.

Subscribe to receive issue release notifications and newsletters from MDPI journals

• No category

Dark-Tourism-Research-Proposal-Final-Draft

Related documents.

Add this document to collection(s)

You can add this document to your study collection(s)

Add this document to saved

You can add this document to your saved list

Suggest us how to improve StudyLib

(For complaints, use another form )

Input it if you want to receive answer

Breadcrumbs Section. Click here to navigate to respective pages.

Reconceptualising dark tourism

DOI link for Reconceptualising dark tourism

Click here to navigate to parent product.

Alongside the growing fascination of tourists and researchers alike with visits to sites associated with death and atrocity (Stone and Sharpley 2008), different terms (for example, black spots tourism, thanatourism or morbid tourism) have been keyed in the attempt to describe, define and conceptualise this social phenomenon. Scholars have commonly adopted the term ‘dark tourism’, first coined by Foley and Lennon (1996) (see for example, Cohen 2010; Mowatt and Chancellor 2011). Nevertheless, the common usage of this term does not suggest the existence of an accepted definition of this social phenomenon. Moreover, there is a general agreement that dark tourism still remains ‘theoretically fragile’ (Stone and Sharpley 2008: 575) and ‘poorly conceptualized’ (Jamal and Lelo 2011: 31). In line with Seaton and Lennon’s (2004) observation that there are more questions than answers in relation to dark tourism, this chapter raises again the question of ‘what is dark tourism?’ (Jamal and Lelo 2011: 31). We attempt to challenge the current approach to dark tourism, asking whether experiences considered to be dark tourism, such as visits to Holocaust or slavery-related sites (Miles 2002; Dann and Seaton 2001), the favela of Rio de Janeiro (Robb 2009), Jack the Ripper walks in London (Stone 2006) and the Body Worlds exhibition (Stone 2011a) indeed have something in common?

• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Cookie Policy
• Taylor & Francis Online
• Taylor & Francis Group
• Students/Researchers
• Librarians/Institutions

Connect with us

Registered in England & Wales No. 3099067 5 Howick Place | London | SW1P 1WG © 2024 Informa UK Limited

Dark Tourism, the Dark Side of Cultural Tourism. Application to the City of Porto

• Conference paper
• First Online: 01 February 2019
• Cite this conference paper

• Dália Liberato 3 ,
• Pedro Liberato 3 &
• Andreia Gonçalves 4  

Part of the book series: Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics ((SPBE))

1813 Accesses

2 Citations

Dark Tourism represents an extension of cultural tourism, once it was necessary to innovate this tourism typology justified by a decrease in demand. This change, was verified in the tourist experience level, that is, to provide unique moments in the cultural level, through the experience, so that it could be the option for a greater number of tourists in the destination. Dark Tourism sites include concentration camps, inactive prisons, serial killers homes, cemeteries, and all other venues that meet the standards of death, tragedy and suffering (Biran et al. 2011; Braithwaite and Lee 2006; Dunkley et al. 2011; Kang et al. 2012; Light 2016, 2017; Podoshen 2013; Podoshen et al. 2015; Stone and Sharpley 2008, 2009; Stone 2012; Yan et al. 2016; and Zhang et al. 2016). In Portugal there are some sites associated with the practice of Dark Tourism, although this is not yet sufficiently explored. The main objective of this investigation is the evaluation of Dark Tourism potential in the city of Porto. Partial objectives are: proving the existence of a market niche in Porto associated to Dark Tourism; understand if the city of Porto has tourism resources and tourism demand, able to develop a tourism experience within the Dark Tourism offer; and to sensitize the Destination Management Organizations (DMO’s) in Porto to the opportunity of this market, through 178 questionnaires, applied to tourists/visitors in the city of Porto. This research confirmed some objectives, variables and proposed fields.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save.

• Get 10 units per month
• Download Article/Chapter or eBook
• 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
• Cancel anytime
• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Durable hardcover edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Understanding Dark Tourism Acceptance in Southeast Asia: The Case of WWII Sandakan–Ranau Death March, Sabah, Malaysia

Dark Cities? Developing a Methodology for Researching Dark Tourism in European Cities

Politics of Dark Tourism: The Case of Cromañón and ESMA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Biran, A., Poria, Y., & Oren, G. (2011). Sought experiences at (dark) heritage sites. Annals of Tourism Research, 38 (3), 820–841.

Article   Google Scholar  

Blom, T. (2000). Morbid tourism: a postmodern market niche with an example from Althorpe. Norwegian Journal of Geography, 54 (1), 29–36.

Google Scholar  

Braithwaite, D., Lee, Y., (2006). Dark Tourism, Hate and Reconciliation: The Sandakan Experience, Global Educators’ Network of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism, 8, (IIPT).

Dann, G. (1998). The Dark Side of Tourism. Etudes et Rapports, Serie L’Aix-en-Provence: Centre International de Recherches et d’Etudes Touristiques.

Dunkley, R., Morgan, N., & Westwood, S. (2011). Visiting the trenches: exploring meanings and motivations in battlefield tourism. Tourism Management, 32, 860–868.

Foley, M., & Lennon, J. J. (1996). JFK and dark tourism: a fascination with assassination. International Journal of Heritage Studies , 2(4), 198e211.

Henderson, J. (2000). War as a tourist attraction: The case of Vietnam. International Journal of Tourism Research, 2 (4), 269–280.

Kim, J. (2014). Antecedents of memorable tourism experiences: Development of a scale to measure the destination attributes associated with memorable experiences. Tourism Management, 44, 34–45.

Kang, E., Scott, N., Lee, T., & Ballantyne, R. (2012). Benefits of visiting a “dark tourism” site: The case of the Jeju April 3rd Peace Park, Korea. Tourism Management, 33, 257–165.

Krisjanous, J. (2016). An exploratory multimodal discourse analysis of dark tourism websites: Communicating issues around contested sites. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 5, 341–350.

Lennon, J. J., & Foley, M. (2000). Dark tourism. Cengage learning EMEA . Toronto: Thompson Publishers.

Light, D. (2016). Book review: Thanatourism: case studies in travel to the dark side. Tourism Management, 55, 287–288.

Light, D. (2017). Progress in dark tourism and thanatourism research: An uneasy relationship with heritage tourism. Tourism Management, 61, 275–301.

Loo, T., & Strange, C. (2000). Rock prison of liberation: Alcatraz Island and the American imagination. Radical History Review, 78, 27–56.

Mahrouse, G. (2016). War-zone tourism: thinking beyond voyeurism and danger ACME. International Journal for Critical Geographies, 15 (2), 330–345.

Moscardo, G., Ballantyne, R. (2008). Interpretation and attractions. In A. Fyall, B. Garrod, A. Leask, S. Wanhill (eds.) Managing visitor attractions: New directions (pp. 237–252). Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford

Chapter   Google Scholar  

Poade, D. (2015). Book review: Dark tourism and crime, D. Dalton. Routledge, London. Tourism Management, 50 , 255–256.

Podoshen, J. S. (2013). Dark tourism motivations: Simulation, emotional contagion and topographic. Tourism Management, 35, 263–271.

Podoshen, J., Venkatesh, V., Wallin, J., Andrzejewski, S., & Jin, Z. (2015). Dystopian dark tourism: An exploratory examination. Tourism Management, 51, 316–328.

Rojek, C. (1993). Ways of escape . Basingstoke: Macmillan.

Book   Google Scholar  

Ryan, C. (Ed.). (2007). Battle tourism: History, place and interpretation . Amsterdam: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann.

Seaton, A. (1996). Guided by the dark: From Thanatopsis to thanatourism. International Journal of Heritage Studies, 2 (4), 234–244.

Seaton, A. V., & Lennon, J. (2004). Moral panics, ulterior motives and alterior desires: Thanatourism in the early 21st century. In T. V. Singh (Ed.), New horizons in tourism: strange experiences and stranger practices (pp. 63–82). Wallingford: CABI.

Sharpley, R., & Stone, P. (2009). The darker side of travel: The theory and practice of dark tourism . Bristol: Channel View Publications. ISBN 978-184541.

Stone, P. R. (2006). A dark tourism spectrum: Towards a typology of death and macabre related tourist sites, attractions and exhibitions. Tourism, 54 (2), 145–160.

Stone, P. (2012). Dark tourism and significant other death. Annals of Tourism Research, 39 (3), 1565–1587.

Stone, P., & Sharpley, R. (2008). Consuming dark tourism: A thanatological perspective. Annals of Tourism Research, 35 (2), 574–595.

Stone, P., & Sharpley, R. (2009). The darker side of travel: The theory and practice of dark tourism . Bristol: Channel View Publications.

Strange, C., & Kempa, M. (2003). Shades of dark tourism: Alcatraz and Robben Island. Annals of Tourism Research, 30, 386–405.

Tilden, F. (1977). Interpreting our heritage . Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

Tunbridge, J., & Ashworth, G. (1996). Dissonant heritage: The management of the past as a resource in conflict. Annals of Tourism Research, 24, 496–498.

Tung, V. W., & Ritchie, J. R. (2011). Exploring the essence of memorable tourism experiences. Annals of Tourism Research, 38 (4), 1367–138.

Turismo do Porto e Norte (2015). Estratégia de Marketing Turístico do Porto e Norte de Portugal.

Yan, B., Zhang, H., Lu, S., & Guo, Y. (2016). Investigating the motivation- experience relationship in a dark tourism space: A case study of the Beichuan earthquake relics, China. Tourism Management, 53, 108–121.

Yankovska, G., & Hannam, K. (2013). Dark and toxic in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Current Issues in Tourism, 17 (10), 929–939.

Young, C., & Light, D. (2016). Interrogating spaces of and for the dead as “alternative space”: Cemeteries, corpses and sites of dark tourism. International Review of Social Research, 6 (2), 61–72.

Zhang, H., Yang, Y., Zheng, C., & Zhang, J. (2016). Too dark to revisit? The role of past experiences and intrapersonal constraints. Tourism Management, 54, 452–464.

Download references

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

School of Hospitality and Tourism, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Vila do Conde, Portugal

Dália Liberato & Pedro Liberato

Porto Accounting and Business School, Polytechnic of Porto, Porto, Portugal

Andreia Gonçalves

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dália Liberato .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

University of West Attica, Athens, Greece

Vicky Katsoni

Business School, Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain

Marival Segarra-Oña

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Cite this paper.

Liberato, D., Liberato, P., Gonçalves, A. (2019). Dark Tourism, the Dark Side of Cultural Tourism. Application to the City of Porto. In: Katsoni, V., Segarra-Oña, M. (eds) Smart Tourism as a Driver for Culture and Sustainability. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03910-3_12

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03910-3_12

Published : 01 February 2019

Publisher Name : Springer, Cham

Print ISBN : 978-3-030-03909-7

Online ISBN : 978-3-030-03910-3

eBook Packages : Business and Management Business and Management (R0)

Share this paper

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research