Contemporary Dark Tourism

Summary

When a crisis hits a destination, there is a terrible human impact, but there is also a negative flow-on effect to the economy, including the visitor economy and the travel and tourism sector. Even after recovery is underway, the place may continue to suffer a negative image in the mind of the public, fuelled by impressions generated by media, deterring visitation. One way for destinations to develop resilience in the aftermath of a crisis is by embracing, rather than evading, the tragedy or trauma – including potentially re-branding as ‘dark tourism’ sites. Dark tourism is currently an industry worth over USD 33.5 billion globally annually and is predicted to continue to grow at 2.5% annually to 2036. Dark tourism has also become the subject of significant academic research over the past quarter of a century. In addition, over the past decade in particular, it has become the subject of increasing media interest. This includes the fictionalisation of dark tourism sites, through shows on streaming service such as Netflix, that spark interest in these ‘dark’ destinations. This case study aims to explore the nexus between media attention on dark tourism destinations, academic research into dark tourism, and destination marketing and on-the-ground tourism offerings relating to such sites. In doing so, it considers the commodification of crisis and the tensions over whether contemporary dark tourism is educational, empathetic, or exploitative. It looks at what key stakeholders think about it, what role governments have in supporting or promoting it, and what role media plays in shaping people’s opinions of impacted destinations. This includes the fictionalisation of real events via television (TV) series on streaming platforms, such as Narcos on Netflix. It considers the potential connection between interest in such shows and visitation on the ground, such as in the case of Colombia (where Narcos is set), to ‘narco-tourism’ sites. Other niche forms of dark tourism that may be inspired by movies and TV shows include genocide tourism to Rwanda and disaster tourism to Chernobyl – the site of a nuclear power plant catastrophe in 1986.