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  • Essay / Current Relationship of International Tourism with Dark Tourism and Implications of Future Trends

    Introduction: The main objective of this assignment is to show the relationship that dark tourism has with international tourism and how it will involve in future trends. “Tourism is one of the ways in which we attempt to approach and understand otherness” (Willis, 2014). Dark tourism has recently become a major attraction for tourists interested in historical sites involved in deaths or tragedies. The relationship between death and tourism has become a broad research topic within tourism studies, but the understanding of dark tourism remains limited. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay Visit sites such as the Hiroshima nuclear bomb in Japan, the Ground Zero 9/11 memorial in New York, camps of concentration in places like Auschwitz in Poland, cemeteries where famous people are buried, Pompeii, Alcatraz federal prison off San Francisco and many more are some of the popular areas that people would like to visit . Tourists travel to see these sites for their dark and strange history that took place in the area and it is a way to confront mortality in modern society. Although dark tourism has been around for a long time, it has only recently become extremely popular and more and more research is being done. Smith (1998) suggests that war-related areas constitute “the largest category of tourist attractions in the world” (Sharpley and Stone 2009). Additionally, various death-related attractions, such as the “Dracula Experience” in Whitby, UK, or the Vienna Funeral Museum sites dedicated to some “famous” deaths (Alderman 2002). These are just some of the very few “dark tourism” attractions that have become popular with people wanting such experiences. Definition: “Tourism is a collection of activities, services and industries that provide a travel experience including transportation, accommodation, food and beverage establishments, retail stores, entertainment businesses and travel services. 'welcome provided to individuals or groups traveling far from home' (Feuler 1905). ). There were an average of 25 million international tourists in 1950, but this figure recently increased to 763 million in 2004. The usual package holidays are aimed at sun seekers and thrill-seeking travelers. However, in recent years, people have been attracted to travel for different reasons. reasons such as "to sites, attractions or events linked in some way to negative historical events in which death, violence, suffering or disaster played a major role" (Sharpley and Stone 2009). As we know, dark tourism has become very popular in recent years, but its origins began years ago in Roman times, where people would gather in arenas to watch gladiator fights or public executions whites in medieval times (Stone 2005). This type of tourism has existed for several years, but it was only given the name “dark tourism” in 1996 by Lennon and Foley (2006). Subsequently, some people tried to remove the label "dark tourism", Blom called it "dark tourism". morbid tourism” and Seaton also introduced the term “thanatourism” in 1996. The term dark tourism is linked to war, slavery and the memorial of death. Ashworth (2004) proposed fourcharacteristics that a site or event should have on the “dark tourism” site for the attraction to be successful. The first characteristic he mentioned is that there must be a human perpetrator just as there must be a human victim, if these people are present they can identify themselves as perpetrators or victims. Second, the perpetrator must have participated in the action and intended to do it, and the victim must be innocent and not in control of his or her own condition. The third characteristic he mentions is that atrocity involves excellent seriousness or unusualness. It must be very unusual to be ableto attract the attention of the tourist. Finally, Ashworth mentions “that an atrocity is a known and remembered event that requires knowledge and memorization” (Ashworth 2004). The history of dark tourism: Pilgrimage is considered one of the first forms of “dark tourism”. Pilgrimage is originally identified as having religious or spiritual significance. Often this is not just related to the deaths of people, but these deaths usually have religious or conceptual significance that is meaningful to a group of people. This can contain a psychological journey for observers. This can sometimes be linked to achieving social or economic status (Lennon and Foley 2003). As mentioned above, early in the existence of dark tourism there is the curiosity of death, for example public executions in medieval times and also the gathering of people to watch gladiator fights at the Roman era, the Roman Colosseum is also considered one of the first dark tourism attractions. Dark tourism motivations: “Motivation (in tourism) factors that influence tourists to want to purchase a particular product or service” (Swarbrooke and Horner 2007). Tourist behavior is a very complex issue because there is no specific perception of what motivates tourists. to travel. Crompton's (1979) classification of travel motivations, presented by Albanese and Boedeker (2003), listed seven characteristics that they believe motivate tourists: Escaping the routines of weekly life, relaxing, escaping socially acceptable roles , self-evaluation and contemplation, raising status, improving family relationships and finally increasing social relationships (Albanese & Boedeker 2003, 108-109). There is also the Push/Pull factor which identifies different motivations. Push factors enable tourists to pursue activities to satisfy their needs, e.g. adventure, thrill seeking, escapism, social interactions. In contrast, pull factors are generally known for tourists traveling to a destination that they have a lot of knowledge about before visiting, such as recreational facilities, beaches, or cultural attractions (Crompton 1979). Regularly, people assume that people interested in dark tourism are looking for attractions related to death and disasters, but they are also interested in finding history and heritage, education, reminders of the past and suffering (Genov 2008). Based on previous research, there are seven different types of dark tourism sites, including: Holocaust tourism, battlefield tourism, prison tourism, slavery heritage tourism, monument tourism, and dark spot tourism. When you visit a “dark tourism” site or attraction, it can cause many different emotions depending on each individual who visits, it can have a positive or negative effect. Plutchik examined people's emotions based on the destination they visit. He classified them intofour different sets of positive and negative emotions. The four sets consist of: joy versus sadness, trust versus disgust, fear versus anger, and surprise versus anticipation (Plutchik 1980). Trends and Issues in “Dark Tourism”: Dark tourism emerges as a negative factor in tourism because it is primarily focused on death. and horror, but for attractions such as concentration camps, holocaust memorials, etc., all have been reopened to tourists in a dark tourism site as a tribute to the deceased victims. Everyone is different and has different thoughts, some may think that evidence of dark past events should be destroyed because they want to forget and move on from those past events. On the other hand, some wish to preserve all evidence of past events and share with others what remains in honor of those who were killed. By having these memorial sites, it helps people who lived and survived, or who know family members, to come out and talk about their own stories. Primo Levi, one of the few survivors of the Holocaust, said that “over the years and decades [barracks and death camps] lose none of their importance as a monument of warning; on the contrary, they gain meaning” (Lennon and Foley 2006). Many of these attractions have also recently included media videos to give watchers a more vivid experience of the tragedies. These sites can be very educational for people who want to know the history of these events. Some people are now interested in this type of tourism rather than the usual sun vacation because they want to see the reality and the scars that have been left. Dark tourism is considered a “mind-expanding exercise” (Hohenhaus 2010). Dark tourism also has some problems as well as positive aspects. By recreating these attractions where tragedies have occurred, some believe the real experience would be destroyed and ruined because it was rearranged. This may lead visitors to take these destinations less seriously (Bowe 2014). Another disadvantage would be that few young people and poorly educated tourists would be interested in these types of events, as it would attract an older generation. This type of tourism sometimes may not have any benefit to the locals or victims because to promote this type of tourism it is essential to spend a lot of money and care from the government (Maharjan 2015). The future of dark tourism: Some may see dark tourism as a motivation to travel to visit these dark historical places, while others may see dark tourism as a way to make money from tragedy. It can be difficult for some attractions to manage the reactions of some visitors regarding sympathy and safety. But where will dark tourism be in the future? “If the atrocious and murderous nature of humans continues through terrorism and terrorism, the possibility of a tourism scenario in which death is an entertainment commodity for a wealthy elite will become a reality in the future” (Wright 2016). Based on research, it identifies how dark tourism will be managed differently and has great potential for development. There are different factors that show the potential development of this industry, these factors have been identified by previous researchers. Terror Parks: Dr. Wright illustrated how he believes dark tourism could have potential and that in the future there will be entertainment and success through the creation of 'Terror Parks' here 2100. He exclaims that these..