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Religious Tourism or Dark Tourism ?

Karel Werdler, Inholland University of Applied Sciences

Institute of Dark Tourism Research – IDTR

October 7, 2016

What is Dark Tourism ?

Lennon & Foley (1996;2000), Sharpley & Stone 2009) :

Dark Tourism Seaton (1996), Johnston & Mandelartz (2016) :

Thanatourism

Sion ed. (2014) : Death Tourism

Others : Morbid tourism, Holocaust tourism, Funerary

tourism, Contested heritage (Ashworth), Slavery tourism, Crime tourism, Prison tourism, Fright tourism, Grief tourism, Disaster tourism, Doomsday tourism, Toxic Tourism

Seaton (1996) : Thanatopsis, thanatourism

Travel to see death (executions)

Travel to see places where people died (Flanders fields….)

Travel to burial sites and monuments

Travel to re-enactments

Travel to synthetic locations such as museums where memento of the dead are exposed

Definition :

“ Dark tourism is the act of travel to sites associated with death, suffering and the seemingly macabre..” (Stone, 2006)

Spectrum from light to dark…..

Stone (2006):..from light to dark...

Dark fun factories ( Dungeons Theme attraction)

Dark exhibitions (Body Worlds)

Dark dungeons (Robben Island)

Dark resting places (Highgate/London)

Dark shrines ( Graceland, USA)

Dark conflict sites (Flanders Fields)

Dark camps of Genocide

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Dark resting place/shrine

St.Peter’s catacombs

Places where people died

(Religious) conflict site

Camps of genocide

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Travel to burial sites/resting places/shrines and monuments (Seaton/Stone)

Travel to places where people died (Seaton)

Travel to Dark conflict sites (Stone)

Travel to Dark camps of genocide (Stone)

These dark tourism places can often be related to religious tourism sites, but…..motivation/emotions ?

Religious e.g. pilgrimage

Historical, heritage

Cultural Antropological

Self fullfilment

Must-see

Curiousity

Looking for the macabre/Horror

Other or combinations

Motivation ?

Macabre enjoyment ?

But not just a western phenomenon (Mecca)

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Blood fountain,

Teheran

Hindu procession, Madras

Dia de Muertos, Mexico

McKercher and Du Cros

Cultural

Tourism

Dark Tourism

Religious Tourism

Conclusion