zaterdag 12 september 2015

Dark tourism and me

Would you rather go to Banksy's Dismaland than to Disneyworld? [1] Do you like to visit places with ungoing turmoil? Do you like to be at risk while on holidays? Do you visit places of death, disaster and atrocities? Then you're a participant of Dark Tourism![2]

Of course, this isn't completely true. Most tourist are visiting dark sites and it's not a bad thing. We've all been to the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, we've visited the deathcamps at Auschwitz or the Killing Fields in Cambodja. It is considered dark tourism, because you are a witness of horrible things and its victims from the past.

Dangerzone tourism is a very perculiar part of dark tourism. That means that tourists visit certain parts not despite of ungoing conflict but because of it. Socio-political conflicts excite these type of travelers. For instance, the Palestine-Israeli conflict is one of those danger zones visited. And because the country is surrounded by 'crazies', Jordan is also considerd a danger zone.

Dorina Buda in her article argues that emotions play a very large role in dark and danger zone tourism. Where I felt anxiety before going to Jordan because of its surrounding conflicts, others feel a thrill and a sense of adventure. Three types of politically-oriented tourists are mentioned in Buda's other article: 1) the solidarity tourists, showing support, 2) the activists tourists, actively joining sides and 3) the intrigued tourist who's just there for the 'show'.[3]

It's interesting to see where our group stands in this theoretical framework. I for instance don't feel at all like a dark tourist. The conflict rather deterred me from going than lured me to travel to Jordan.

I don't consider myself one of the three aforementioned types of tourists. So is there perhaps a fourth? The dark tousist who just happens to go to danger zones? The 'happenstantial' dark tourist?


1. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/news/dismaland-banksys-bemusement-park-is-deeply-unsettling-but-bizarrely-entertaining-10465485.html
2. Buda, Dorina Maria, Anne-Marie d’Hauteserre, and Lynda Johnston. "Feeling and tourism studies." Annals of Tourism Research 46 (2014): 102-114.
3. Buda, Dorina Maria. "Tourism in Conflict Areas Complex Entanglements in Jordan." Journal of Travel Research (2015): 0047287515601253.

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