By Ollie Cooper, Cash crew

Curiosity in a phenomenon generally known as “darkish tourism” has been steadily rising in recent times – however what’s it?

To seek out out, we have spoken with tourism educational Dr Hayley Stainton and famend darkish vacationer and creator Dr Peter Hohenhaus, who runs a darkish tourism web site.

What’s it?

On the whole, darkish tourism entails travelling to websites related to dying or catastrophe.

“Darkish tourism has been round for so long as now we have been travelling to locations related to dying,” Dr Stainton says. 

Nonetheless, the time period wasn’t formally coined till 1996 by John Lennon, a professor of tourism at Glasgow Caledonian College, in Scotland.

“Not everyone seems to be acquainted with the time period,” says Dr Stainton, “[but] many individuals have been a darkish vacationer at a while or one other, whether or not intentional or not.”

Some examples of probably the most well-known websites

• Auschwitz focus camp, Poland
• 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York, US
• Chernobyl, Ukraine 
• Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan
• Choeung Ek “killing fields” and the Tuol Sleng genocide museum on the former S-21 jail in Phnom Penh, Cambodia 

Areas with a level of infamy, like Alcatraz, are extraordinarily common spots that additionally fall underneath the “darkish tourism” umbrella. 

How common is it?

Dr Hohenhaus and Dr Stainton say they’ve seen an increase in its reputation. 

“Vacationers are in search of extra distinctive and strange experiences,” Dr Stainton says. 

“This has seen a transfer away from the extra conventional ‘solar, sea and sand’ kind holidays to quite a lot of totally different tourism varieties, which incorporates darkish tourism.”

Dr Hohenhaus provides: “Possibly individuals need to hook up with more moderen and therefore extra personally related historical past – that’s undoubtedly the case with myself.”

He goes on: “I believe I’ve discovered extra concerning the world by means of darkish tourism than by means of all of my formal training or my earlier educational profession.”

Is it moral?

That is the large query related to darkish tourism. 

Dr Stainton says that whereas issues do come up, the stigma across the follow is usually misguided. 

“Folks do not go to websites just like the killing fields in Cambodia or the location of Chernobyl for ‘enjoyable’ – they go to for the tutorial expertise, as darkish tourism is usually additionally a type of instructional tourism,” she says.

Issues come up when vacationers usually are not respectful to those that might have been impacted.

“For example, taking inappropriate images or laughing and joking when others could also be in a state of mourning.”

Infamous examples embrace individuals taking selfies outdoors Grenfell Tower and at Auschwitz. 

“It’s subsequently crucial that darkish vacationers are thoughtful of these round them and respectful always,” Dr Stainton says.

“So long as you aren’t simply after an affordable sensationalist thrill – take darkish tourism significantly and do it proper, and it may be an immensely enriching factor to interact in.” 

Dr Hohenhaus

The place may you go? 

These are Dr Hohenhaus’ suggestions:

• Ijen crater in Indonesia – the place at night time you may see the fabled blue flames of the sulphur mines subsequent to the volcano crater lake;
• The Polygon, the previous Semipalatinsk nuclear weapons check website of the USSR, now in Kazakhstan;
• The Goli Otok former jail island off the coast of Croatia;
• The Murambi memorial to the Rwandan genocide – which Dr Hohenhaus says is “actually the very darkest place I’ve ever been”;
• Majdanek focus camp memorial close to Lublin, japanese Poland.

What do you consider darkish tourism? Is it misunderstood, instructional or abhorrent? Tell us within the feedback part…