https://clok.uclan.ac.uk/3995/1/1-s2.0-S0160738308000261-main.pdf__tid%3D90f05cc0912e830dc006127480a0a0f0%26acdnat%3D1344587777_cab3d67ccfefbcd5c8d9192d03f7182f

Consuming dark tourism: A Thanatological Perspective

Deaths, disasters and atrocities in touristic form are becoming an increasingly pervasive feature within the contemporary tourism landscape, and as such, are ever more providing potential spiritual journeys for the tourist who wishes to gaze upon real and recreated death. As a result, the rather emotive label of 'dark tourism' has entered academic discourse and media parlance, and consequently has generated a significant amount of research interest. However, despite this increasing attention the dark tourism literature remains both eclectic and theoretically fragile. That is, a number of fundamental issues remain, not least whether it is actually possible or justifiable to collectively categorise a diverse range of sites, attractions and exhibitions that are associated with death and the macabre as 'dark tourism', or whether identifiable degrees or 'shades' of darkness can be attributed to a particular type of dark tourism supplier. This paper argues that certain suppliers may indeed, conceptually at least, share particular product features, perceptions and characteristics, which can then be loosely translated into various 'shades of darkness'. As a result, dark tourism products may lie along a rather 'fluid and dynamic spectrum of intensity', whereby particular sites may be conceivably 'darker' than others, dependant upon various defining characteristics, perceptions and product traits. It is proposed that construction of a firm and comprehensive typological foundation will lead not only to a better understanding of dark tourism supply, but also, and perhaps more importantly, lead to a better understanding of where to locate and explore consumer demand, motivations and experiences.

/pdf/a-dark-tourism-spectrum-towards-a-typology-of-death-and-480nqsydjl.pdf

A dark tourism spectrum: Towards a typology of death and macabre related tourist sites, attractions and exhibitions

This article was written as an introduction to the journal by the editors; seeking to examine areas for future research into heritage tourism. The article is one of the most read and most cited of all the articles across the 9 volumes that have been published to date. The paper examined a range of what the authors called 'existing and emerging trends in heritage tourism', including research focused on supply and demand, heritage politics, conservation concerns, heritage economics, authenticity. They also set out more recent and future trends encouraging research in the following: thanatourism, ordinary landscapes, ordinary people, how heritage is linked to other sectors, heritage trails and routes, personal heritage and individual identity, the rise of heritage in the developing world, and religious tourism. The authors (editor and associate editor) set out the case for the need for a journal that focused on heritage tourism research alone and encouraged scholars to develop the field further and publish their findings in the journal.

Heritage Tourism in the 21st Century: Valued Traditions and New Perspectives

http://web.mnstate.edu/robertsb/390/Shades%20of%20dark%20tourism%20-%20Alcatraz%20and%20Robben%20Island.pdf

SHADES OF DARK TOURISM Alcatraz and Robben Island

Sought experiences at (dark) heritage sites

Death is the one heritage that everyone shares and it has been an element of tourism longer than any other form of heritage. This paper looks at the historical development of Thanatoptic elements in travel and shows how the Dark Tourism to which this issue is devoted can be located within a historical tradition which sheds light on how it should be defined, typified and viewed today

/pdf/guided-by-the-dark-from-thanatopsis-to-thanatourism-4b0epq0rg5.pdf

A.V. Seaton

Papers

Guided by the dark: From thanatopsis to thanatourism