Research Article, J Tourism Res Hospitality Vol: 10 Issue: 3

Dark Tourism as an Exploration Tourism: Dark Tourism Potential of Nepal

Kiran Bhatta^*

Lecturer, Department of Management, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal

*Corresponding Author:

Kiran Bhatta
Lecturer, Department of Management, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal
Tel: 9851093613
E-mail:kiranbhatta20@gmail.com

Received Date: October 17, 2020; Accepted Date: March 08, 2021; Published Date: March 15, 2021

Citation: Bhatta K (2021) Dark Tourism as an ExplorationTourism: Dark Tourism Potential of Nepal. J Tourism Res Hospitality 10:3.

Copyright: © All articles published in Dental Health: Current Research are the property of SciTechnol, and is protected by copyright laws. “Copyright © 2021, SciTechnol, All Rights Reserved.

Abstract

Keywords: Destination, Tourism of Special Interest, Black Tourism

Introduction

There is no doubt that a person is influenced by social and cultural activities or events. A tourist can be persuaded and his perception of travel can be related to his perception of the world. However, there are so many things or people, that a traveler gets carried away and these inspirations work as motivators to travel to a certain place. The environment and other activities make a person what he is. Not even two people have the same psychological acceptance for something or someone. In other words, a person’s demand depends on the type of behavior and intellect they have. But what makes people travel? It does not matter if it is from the inner voice or from outside influence, a person can feel deprived when her actual stage is different from her desired stage.

The person appears to have a satisfied need to reach the desired stage. In the same way, a person who wants to have experience or entertainment, instead, would try to find a specific place to fulfill his wish. A place that looks attractive or attractive attracts tourists from different places. It is the individual requirement of a tourist who, wherever she wants to go for fun, recreation, vacations, business, etc. visit that place and explore it. They are those places on the globe that are related to death, atrocity, disaster, tragedy or destruction, having a sinister past that attracts tourists from different parts of the world and this forms the basis of the term ‘Black Tourism’. In other words, people who travel to various places with a dark history are called “Black Tourism” or “Mourning Tourism.”

According to Kang [1] objections related to catastrophic events have become points of recognition, but, in addition, they blunt the destinations and attractions of the travel industry itself. These types of travel industries are regularly accepted in the interest of true mindfulness and social equality; tourists claim to make obscure visits, as they can discover more about the madness in the desire to avoid wild futures [2]. These objections incorporate points as out of place as those of cemeteries, cemeteries, murders, graves, front lines, mass passage, and previous homes of defeated superstars [1]. These attractions and places arouse negative feelings that include compassion, fear, discouragement, horror, sympathy, pity, and feelings of revenge [3].

Black tourism is the youngest subset of tourism, introduced only in the 1990s. It is a multifaceted and diverse phenomenon. Studies on black tourism carried out in western countries succinctly describe black tourism as a study of history and heritage, tourism and tragedies. Black tourism has been identified as niche or special interest tourism. This article highlights how black tourism was theoretically conceptualized in previous studies. As a general concept, black tourism includes tourism, black point tourism, morbid tourism, disaster tourism, conflict tourism, dissonant heritage tourism, and others.

Dark Tourism” was first coined by Foley and Lennon [4] in a special edition of the International Journal of Heritage Studies, its analysis is mainly related to the presentation and consumption of real and mercantile places of death and disasters. The work was not the first to draw attention to the phenomenon of darkness in tourism. In 1989,Uzzelldiscussed the red-hot interpretation of places of war and conflict [5] the appearance of black dots “that” refer to development.

Later, refined by his claim that black tourism is a suggestion of postmodernity “[6]. That is, in the first place, the interest and the interpretation of the facts associated with death depend, in on to a large extent, the ability of global communication technology to instantly inform and then repeat them ad infinitum (hence space-time compression). Second, most black tourism sites are said to defy order, rationality and progress inherent in modernity. Third, in most places, the lines between the message and its marketing as tourism products are increasingly blurred. Lennon and Foley’s aforementioned temporal positioning of black tourism as modern phenomenon or in living memory “remains a subject of controversy with other literatures, that is, Ryan and Kohli’s study of the buried village” in New Zealand in 1886 - agrees with Lennon and Foley. In other words, contemporary tourist experiences at the site are multifaceted and not predominantly related to the 1886 disaster.

Dark Tourism: An Old Concept in a New World There are a growing number of death-related visitor sites, attractions, and exhibits, often marketed under the guise of souvenirs, education, and / or entertainment, attracting people eager to consume real and mercantile Death. In fact, traveling to places of death, disaster and macabre is becoming a pervasive cultural activity in contemporary society. From enjoying family picnics at battle sites in northern France or buying genocide souvenirs at Ground Zero, to allowing school children to live past lives of unhappy prisoners at Bodmin Prison, they are all illustrations of the seemingly macabre. Consequently, the term “black tourism” (also known by the strange label “tanaturismo”) has entered academic discourse and the language of the media. Essentially, black tourism refers to visits, whether intentional or unintentional, to purpose / no-purpose places that offer a presentation of death or suffering as their reason for being.

With death and suffering at the center of the gladiatorial product, and its avid consumption by raucous spectators, the Roman Coliseum can be considered one of the first obscure tourist attractions. Other precursors of black tourism, and before the democratization of travel, can be seen in public executions from medieval times to the 19th century. As public spectacles, the executions served as visible reminders of deterrence and retaliation. However, with the advent of more formalized arrangements to accommodate visiting peepers, public executions increasingly took on the characteristics of a spectator event.

In fact, execution sites like Tyburn boasted of having specially built bleachers to offer better views for viewing the condemned data. Along the same lines, this fascination with “another death” can be seen in the supposedly first guided tour of England, in which in 1838 a train tour of Cornwall led to the hanging of two convicted murderers [7]. Other early examples of black tourism can be found on guided tours of the Victorian morgue, in Madame Tussaud’s Chamber of Horrors exhibition, or in the “houses of correction” where galleries were built to accommodate visitors who they paid for and witnessed the flogging as a recreational activity. However, nowadays, black tourism manifests itself in various forms and subsets.

This includes Holocaust tourism (Tunbridge and Ashworth;Lennon and Foley) [8,6], battlefield tourism (Henderson) [9], cemeteries and places of detention (Seaton)[10], slavery heritage (Dann and Seaton)[11], celebrity death places (Alderman)[12], and prison tourism [13]. However, it is only recently that black tourism, in all its manifestations and shades, has become widespread and apparently more popular. Although it is not clear if the proliferation of black tourism is due to an increase in the offer of attractions and places, or if consumers are increasingly demanding of the macabre, inspired by the media or not, death in tourist form it is a growing feature of the contemporary landscape.

It is this demand for the black tourism product and the motivation behind it that is of fundamental importance. While there is a clear need for a much more comprehensive exploration of the motivations for black tourism, both in general and in micro-populations, some esp has already been done.

The point of this examination is to decide the dim the travel industry capability of Turkey. To this end, first we audited the related issues and papers with dull the travel industry. At that point, Turkey’s significant and potential dull the travel industry locales were distinguished in the exploration. As per dull the travel industry capability of Turkey a few suggestions was given. Additionally, in this paper, the significance of as of late building up an idea of dim the travel industry has been stressed and different proposals have been made for future investigations.

Dark Tourism involves traveling to places that have encountered, or are associated with, death, disaster, depravity, misfortune, and the macabre. The concept of Dark Tourism is not new. The element of “darkness” in this type of tourism is mostly derived from historical events, such as wars. Other examples include disasters, paranormal sightings, bizarre rituals, and other tragedies. In recent times, Dark Tourism has witnessed rising popularity, particularly within Western travelers. It is thus not uncommon to find several Dark Tourism sites in Europe and North America. Dark Tourism sites are home to various historical events and visitors are drawn to such places— tourists’ attraction to death, misfortune, and macabre themes has transformed Dark Tourism into a growing area of visitor interest. This research first aims to explore Dark Tourism interest within young travelers from Asia. The second aim is to cover the knowledge gap in Asian perspectives on Dark Tourism.

Methodology

This study explores black tourism in Southeast Asia, visiting behaviors, reasons for visiting, and how to promote awareness of black tourism among young Asian tourists. The research takes data from primary sources to determine the viability of black tourism in Southeast Asia. A self-administered survey using Qualtrics was created and conducted to collect quantitative data from a sample of young Asian adults ages 21-35. A total of 266 completed responses were considered adequate for analysis, showing a response rate of 51%. Participants were randomly selected and invited by mass mail to participate in the survey. Participants voluntarily responded to the survey questions. H5718 ethical approval was obtained from the Human Research Ethics Committee of James Cook University in Australia for this study.

The survey incorporated an informed consent form and included open and closed questions about Dark Tourism’s demographics and motivations for traveling. The question format included multiplechoice questions that required only one answer, or the selection of the answer using a Likert scale or a grid format. A pilot study was carried out to ensure that the research questions were clear and did not create confusion among the participants. In addition, it provided the opportunity to evaluate the validity of the questions and the reliability of the data collected. The pilot study revealed some minor problems in the construction of the questionnaire, which were verified and rectified by the researchers before the actual study was conducted. Participant profile.Approximately 42% of the respondents was men, while approximately 58% were women. The majority (41%) were between 21 and 25 years old. In terms of nationality, 67% of those surveyed were of Southeast Asian nationalities, such as Vietnamese, Burmese, Singaporean, Indonesian, Malay, Cambodian, Filipino, or Thai. The remainder came from the Indian subcontinent (India and Sri Lanka) and East Asia (China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea). Data analysis All statistical analyzes were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 25. The present study used descriptive statistics.

A set of three research questions is formulated to meet the research objectives. The research questions are as follows:

(1) Are young Asian travelers willing to travel dark tourism?

(2) What is the potential travel behavior of young Asian tourists towards dark tourism?

(3) What are the motivations of young Asian travelers for / against black tourism?

This article was organized into four sections: the first section describes the topic and structure of the article; the literature review section presents the current body of knowledge in the area, discusses the motivations of black tourism, travel behavior in relation to black tourism, and awareness and promotion of black tourism. The following section describes the study objectives and methods used; The next section analyzes the results and discusses the will to travel to black tourism, travel behaviors, motivations and reasons to avoid black tourism; and the final section presents implications - theoretical and practical - and conclusions.

Dark tourism Dark tourism is not a new concept and is generally related to historical events, including battles, sacrifices, public executions, and death. Black tourism was first defined in the late 1990s. In particular, Foley and Lennon [4] observed that dark tourism involves the display and consumption of actual and commercialized sites of death and disaster by visitors who they want to experience the reality of these and their relationship with the atrocities (Yoshida, Bui and Lee, 2016). These places can include places where celebrities or various people died; Rojek (1991) called these places “black spots”. In a separate project, Seaton [14] explored the term “thanatopsis” (or contemplation of death) and how it motivates black tourism.

Dark Tourism places can be classified according to various broad themes, such as warfare, history, bizarre traditions, disasters, natural disasters, the paranormal, poverty, and other tragic events and things of a macabre nature (Tan & Lim, 2018). In short, such places are generally associated with death and misfortune (Reid, 2016). These perspectives and definitional frameworks underlie current understanding of Dark Tourism and make potential Dark Tourism locations more easily identifiable. For the purpose of this study, Dark Tourism is operationalized based on the previous literature as “the act of traveling to places associated with the underlying themes of death, misfortune, and anything else of a macabre nature.”

Literature Review

Rachael Raine [15] in her study on dark tourists affirms that tourists can be identified from the darkest to the brightest depending on the type of places they like to visit and their motivating factors for it. He even identified nine types of dark tourists in his office.

Philip Stone [16] in his study referred to black tourism as Thana tourism and also mentions that it is the act of tourists visiting places that are linked to death, disasters and other similar acts that tend to attract attention. It further states that despite the amount of literature present and the growing attraction of visitors, the study is still in its early stages. The author also offers a critical view of the Thana Tourism Grant.

Jeffery Podoshenin his article examines the motivational consumption of black tourism for tourists. It gives us a mixed approach and tracks the motivations of black tourism specifically related to the “blackpackers” and also takes into account the fans of the musical performance of the black band.

Motivations for black tourism Motivation can be defined as the internal driver of human behavior that pushes an individual in a certain direction and explains why and how human behavior is activated and directed. Motivation is a very broad topic, with multiple dimensions, of a dynamic nature, especially in the context of tourism, since it drives the desire of tourists to get away from their daily lives, thus creating the demand for tourism. Understanding the specific motivation of tourists is critical to planning better products and services, promoting effective marketing, and developing tourist attractions, and research can help clarify and establish this relationship. Researchers have developed various classifications and models to explain the reasons for long-term travel.

These classifications and structures are primarily based on principles from social psychology and sociology, such as Maslow’s hierarchical needs theory, which paved the way for the Travel Career Ladder and other similar approaches. Implicit and explicit applications of Maslow’s theory have also been proposed to define internal or external stimulants for the motivation to travel. One of the most cited theories of motivation is the push and pull theory, which illustrates that motivation can be divided into push and pull factors. The motivation to push comes from intrinsic psychological motivators, while the motivations to pull are extrinsic to the destination and attract tourists to the attraction. Among the many theories about travel motivation that have been developed so far, the push and pull theory has been most widely discussed in the tourism literature. The motivating factors for pushing are considered important to explain the factors at the individual level and the desire to travel, while the motivating factors for pushing are used to explain the factors and characteristics of the destination level of a tourist destination.

Driving factors include the need to escape, rest, relax,selfdevelopment, and adventure; however, pull factors include attributes of the destination, such as attractions, nature, culture, and local activities. This article focuses on push-pull theory in the context of dark tourism. A review of the existing literature reveals a series of motivations to push and pull towards black tourism. There may be several relevant drivers in the context of black tourism; however, the literature shows that there are some that are more attractive, such as thrill-seeking, memory, death and dying, education and experience. The search for emotions is derived from the consequences of curiosity and the search for novelties, so that the tourist “can implicitly take meanings of mortality from his visit” to learn and obtain new experiences and knowledge [17]. Some tourists are motivated by dark experiences and in search of emotions.

Special Interest Tourism

It is acknowledged that it is difficult to characterize unique intrigue the travel industry in a way adequate to scientists over the range of the travel industry fields and exploration draws near [18]. Corridor and Weiler [19] proposed unique intrigue the travel industry to happen when “voyager’s inspiration and dynamic are essentially dictated by a specific uncommon enthusiasm with an attention either on the exercises or objections and settings”. Exceptional intrigue the travel industry is inverse of mass the travel industry with the attention on kinds of the travel industry that can possibly fulfill the explorers, covering provincial the travel industry, social and legacy the travel industry, experience the travel industry, and celebration and occasion the travel industry [20].Unique intrigue the travel industry covers agribusiness, engineering, workmanship, fowl watching, fishing, botanic, music, golf, history, show, photography, safari, plunging, training, tasting wine so on [21]. In late year voyaging objections (war front lines, jails, massacre territories, cataclysmic event, and so on) where sightseers have sentiments of death, agony and misery has expanding fame. It is conceivable to include these objections in exceptional intrigue the travel industry objections [22].

Dark Tourism as Special Interest Tourism

There is no all around the world acknowledged structure of dull the travel industry, and worldwide acknowledged meaning of dim the travel industry. Nonetheless, there has been an expanding consideration among researchers to utilize dull the travel industry as an examination region. For example, Lee et al. [23] examine dull the travel industry inside a harmony worldview among North and South Korea. Seaton (2009) distinguished how dull the travel industry objections might be overseen and infers that dim the travel industry objections are interesting spots whose developmental decent variety and nature request administrative systems that not the same as other the travel industry objections. Then again, Sharpley and Stone [5] tended to introductions of misfortune and found dull the travel industry understanding inside a calculated structure and the commodification of recognitions.

Tourism; therefore, historical or morbid curiosity and documenting should attract these tourists to visit Dark Tourism sites. Remembrance, the second factor, is defined as remembering events from the past in the present, at not only the family but also the national level. Some events related to death have a special place in time and history. Another argument for remembrance is the need for identification. Human identity is related with remembrance, which is the fundamental assumption for going through life and interacting with others so that it is more indirectly reflected in the perspective of “personality,” as well as directly reflected in one’s mind. For example, Stone of Remembrance (Remembrance Day) in Melbourne is celebrated at 11.00 am on November 11 annually. Another push factor is Death and Dying, and tourists may be interested in traveling to sites related to this push factor due to an interest in the outcome of death. As Gaya noted,“interest in and meditation on [death is] seen as normal or even a moral requirement”.

Education is listed as another important push motivation. Many Dark Tourism attractions are aimed at educating people about the past, such as the reasons behind unfortunate events or how victims coped with them. Tourists may be driven to understand the “legitimacy of event and the need to acknowledge the truth of the actual existence of a person or place”. Finally, the fifth factor, Experience, enables tourists to understand the inequities of human life due to natural disaster or economic crisis. Many people living in, for instance, South African countries are extremely poor and face difficulties even surviving. They require several forms of social, physical, and psychological aid.

Thus, experiencing their lives could be a push motivation for some. A review of the most prominent pull motivation factor for Dark Tourism shows that history, cultural heritage and identity, location and artifacts/ exhibits are some of the most important pull factors. History provides a link to the past that enables people to understand their own lives. Each generation creates social memories through complex processes which involve the selection and articulation of information. For example, visitors to war sites and disaster locations are creating social memory. Memorials or other historical places, paired with information and visual evidence, may provide valuable lessons and experience for newer generations. Cultural Heritage and Identity is identified as the second factor. It is linked to history, but is presented as an independent pull factor. It can be defined as inherited traditions, monuments, objectives, and culture, while identity is related to “sympathy, race, and religion” in human society. Tourists who visit Dark Tourism attractions may identify with travel to encounters of spots related with death is anything but a recently risen wonder [17].

The term dull the travel industry was first instituted by Foley and Lennon [4]. Not with standing, Rojek [25] first introduced the idea of dull objections with the idea of ‘Square Spot’ or “the touristic improvements of grave locales and destinations in which VIPs or huge number of individuals have met with abrupt and rough demise”. Then again, Blom [26] who characterize ‘sullen the travel industry’ as the travel industry that centers on abruptly passing and which rapidly pulls in various of individuals. Seaton [14] talks about that dim the travel industry has a long history, rising structure what he alludes to as a ‘thanatoptic the travel industry’ that goes back to Middle Ages yet that heightened during the late eighteenth and mid nineteenth hundreds of years with visits to, for example, the war zone of Waterloo.

There are numerous dim the travel industry objections everywhere on over the world. Therewithal, Turkey has some dim the travel industry objections and attractions. Nonetheless, the capability of dull the travel industry destinations in Turkey has not very much perceived at this point. In this paper we will talk about dim the travel industry locales and attractions having the most traveler capability of Turkey.

What makes Nepali art so distinctive that we need to study it thoroughly, and how can studying art history benefit every Nepali, no matter their career?

Art is an expression of human thought onto a physical medium; history refers to a scientific study of the past. Art history looks at past human endeavors through the lens of visual expressions. Be it terracotta figurines, stone sculptures, woodcarvings or paintings, art history interprets these works relative to the political, economic, and philosophical atmosphere of a particular time.

Nepali art is diverse and complex. Traditional art here includes intricate floral patterns, mythical beings, and the complex fusion of Hindu, Buddhist, and indigenous elements using various materials like wood, stone, metal, and cloth. Even a small temple often contains struts, tympanums, and door façades with many details like stylised lotus blooms, Makara (a mythical aquatic beast), gryphons, lions and multi-armed deities. Hindu temples such as the Krishna Mandir and Pashupatinath and Buddhist sites such as Swayaṃbhū and Vajrayoginī are like open-air museums for ancient and medieval art and architecture.

The distribution of Nepali art in the three cities of Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, and Patan among other regions throughout the hills and Himalayas is a reminder of the country’s glorious past. Wang Hwang Tse, a 7th-century Chinese traveller on his way back to China from India described the court of the Nepali ruler Aṃśuverman as water emerging from gilt copper dragons, impressive gold-plated copper roofs and the king wearing a pendant bearing a golden Buddha image.

Much later the few Europeans like Gustav Le Bon and Henry Ambrose Oldfield who arrived here in the 19th century held Nepali art in such high regard that they filled entire volumes with sketches of temples, squares, and sculptures. More recently, scholars like Waldschmidt, Mary Slusser, and Pratapaditya Pal have widely written about and exhibited hundreds of Nepali works of art in museums all over the world.

In spite of its popularity internationally, Nepali art and art history does not seem to offer much of a career in Nepal’s context. People would argue—why forego professions like engineering, medicine or banking in favour of a discipline that seems limited to only connoisseurs? But three key points can be highlighted here. First, art history borders multiple disciplines like anthropology, material science, conservation studies, economics, and political science. This could lead to unique careers in research, heritage conservation/ restoration, tourism, or heritage-based policy making—all of which have a high scope considering Nepal’s rich background.

Second, knowing a region’s art history allows us to see the similarities and connections among different cultures. For example, in the early Christian Era, Asia and Europe were connected by the Silk Route, which was famous for trading silk, spices, and precious metal. Through this route, Indian and Indo-Greek art spread across Central, East and South Asia. Gandhāra, in present-day Northern Pakistan, was a hub where Greco-Roman, Indian and Chinese cultures flourished together, as evidenced by the distinctive Buddhist images found there. Such historic ties help establish common grounds that are essential for diplomacy.

Lastly, sound knowledge of art history can help promote Nepal’s ancient and medieval heritage internationally, augmenting its tourism economy. In 2017 two European art centers, France and Italy, brought in over $100 billion through tourism. France alone recorded over 1 million museum visits in 2011. In comparison, Nepal’ entire tourist foreign tourist count for 2018 was just over 1 million. Therefore, Nepali museums and cultural heritage sites need more expertise and warrant management from well-trained art historians to take cultural tourism to a much better position.

Furthermore, an art historian doesn’t just write about topics that become textbook material—they can also bring about social change and influence local economies. For instance, the late Dina Bangdel, throughout her career as an art historian and as a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, exposed the works of new and old Nepali artists. Her work became instrumental in promoting the dying traditional craftsmanship and giving it a much-needed revival. She kept lobbying bring back stolen Nepali art treasures.

Another critical spokesperson for Nepal’s tangible and intangible heritage was the late archaeologist and art historian, Sukra Sagar Shrestha. He tirelessly documented thousands of art objects before and after the 2015 earthquake. He encouraged young artists, conservators, writers and researchers. The 33 feet tall megalithic Manjushrī statue, a major tourist attraction in Chobhār, is a testament to his advocacy.

A good art historian can be an ambassador for Nepal on the world stage. Their writings and efforts can carry a lasting impression of the country’s reputation. Their job is not limited to scholarly circles and aficionados but also can drive a significant economic sector. Art history can remind the world that Nepal is not only about the green hills and high mountains but also about some of the most beautiful creative works made by human hands.

Dark tourism covers battlefields, zones of assassinations and terrorist attacks, dungeons, areas of genocide or zones of disasters. Dark tourism is a special interest tourism in which visitors or tourists unwittingly participate. Attracting factors of dark tourism is different from other types of special interest tourism. Recently, the attractiveness of dark tourism is increasing because an experience of dark tourism is unusual. However, awareness of dark tourism in Turkey is lower than other countries. Wherever you can go in the world, dark tourism sites and attractions can be found. Thus, dark tourism as special interest tourism should be added tourism plans in order to develop tourism and gain competitive advantage in Turkey.

When it comes to issue of dark tourism in Turkey, Turkey has many dark tourism attractions and sites such as Ulucanlar Prison Museum, Dolmabahce Palace, Gallipoli, Afyon: Cemeteries, Mausoleums, Van Earthquake Museum, so on. As seen, Turkey has a great opportunity to develop dark tourism and gain competitive advantage amongst rival destinations of Turkey. However, development and interpretation of these sites and attractions should be sustainable in order not to damage these sites. Advertisement need to be done by Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and local governments to increase awareness of visitors and tourists. Also, tour operators play a significant role to use dark tourism potential of Turkey. They should add these important dark tourism sites in their tour routes.

Briefly, this paper planned a preview study for dark tourism experiences in Turkey, providing some of significant knowledge for future research of dark tourism. This paper has relevance to increasing awareness of dark tourism sites, providing some evidence about dark tourism experiences. An empirical research on one of dark tourism attraction of Turkey may aid management and development of dark tourism sites and attractions to create effective sites by understanding the benefits obtained by travellers to a site.

By this research study it has been stated that there is lack of awareness amongst Indian tourists with regards to dark tourism and tragic sites. People take a place of tragic accidents as a tourist spot and are not aware of the consequences that they can face in those sites. People should not take tragic sites as a leisure place for tourism instead they should be aware of the actions taken place in that area. People feel there is lack of transport going to that place. So they should be made aware of the consequences that they can face in that places or else it can harm their life in various ways that can lead to disrespect of the sites of importance. These tragic sites lose their importance as people tend to take and spend leisure time in such places which can harm they should maintain a decorum of silence and peace at its best instead of making those sites places of leisure.

Conclusion

The current research demonstrates that Dark Tourism has market potential in Southeast Asia amongst young South and East Asian tourists. A large percentage of youths seemed to be willing to travel for Dark Tourism, but only when it is within their home country for four days or less at a cost of up to $500. However, these findings are only applicable for certain categories of potential Dark Tourism attractions based on select motivations. The study shows that young Asian tourists prefer to visit Dark Tourism places that are historic. These include sites that are renowned for historical events such as wars, or related to warfare. The results also reveal that tourists are motivated by experience, history, education, culture and identity, and site/location, in the order of importance, when it comes to Dark Tourism travel. On the other hand, ‘personal fear’ emerged as the prime reason for not to engage in Dark Tourism travel. The success of Dark Tourism in Asia could be established by generating awareness and promotion of Dark Tourism with young Asian tourists via personalized communication channels such as social media and travel blogs. Overall, the current study may provide deeper insights to marketers for targeting tourists, especially when applying tourism-promoting strategies to increase awareness of Dark Tourism destination in South and East Asian countries.

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