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Dark tourism is a type of niche tourism where tourists visit destinations or exhibits that highlight death, suffering, or atrocities. It differs from other types of special interest tourism and is a profitable business. Examples include the Toul Sleng killing fields, London Dungeon, and Chernobyl. Some academics interpret it more broadly, while others narrow the definition to exclusively include gruesome or morbid historical events. It is a modern development of niche tourism and appeals to people who might otherwise have little interest in the general story or homage.
Dark tourism is a niche type of tourism in which tourists specifically target destinations or exhibits that highlight death, morbid suffering, or atrocities. Also called black tourism for its emphasis on nefarious or oppressive aspects of historical events or places, dark tourism is one of many types of tourism that has arisen in the development of modern niche tourism. Examples of famous dark tourist sites include the Toul Sleng killing fields in Cambodia which are filled with the skulls of tortured and executed political prisoners, the London Dungeon in England which highlights medieval torture instruments and the skeletal remains of unfortunate victims, and the ghostly Alienation Zone in Chernobyl, site of the 1986 nuclear reactor disaster.
Some academics interpret dark tourism under more general auspices and do not measure intent in defining dark tourism. For example, some might classify WWII European concentration camps or haunted houses as obscure tourist attractions, as these exhibits emphasize tragic or frightening moments in human history. Other academics make a clear distinction between dark tourism and other types of adjectival tourism. They narrow the definition to exclusively include exhibits and attractions associated exclusively with gruesome or morbid historical events or exhibits that strongly appeal to the darker, more curious side of human nature.
Certainly, dark tourism in its truest form generally differs from other types of special interest tourism, such as war tourism or grief tourism. Many tourists visit war memorials to pay their respects to veterans or to remember honorable sacrifices made on a battlefield. This type of visit is not generally considered “obscure”. Dark tourism specifically refers to the act of traveling for the entertainment value of a morbid interest in death, suffering, and disasters.
The word tourism was invented in 1811, although people have been traveling to see sites of historical interest for thousands of years. Countless pilgrims have visited holy places, such as the tomb of Jesus, or sites of historic battles to pay homage or honor, but these people cannot necessarily be considered “obscure” tourists. Tourism is a booming business for many countries and the modern development and marketing of niche tourism is very profitable. Dark tourism and other types of adjectival tourism appeal to people who might otherwise have little interest in the general story or homage.
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