0% found this document useful (0 votes)
18 views105 pages

Thanatourism Case Studies in Travel To The Dark Side 1st Edition Tony Johnston Pascal Mandelartz Download

The book 'Thanatourism: Case Studies in Travel to the Dark Side' edited by Tony Johnston and Pascal Mandelartz explores the concept of thanatourism, focusing on tourism related to death and disaster through various case studies. It aims to provide educational resources for undergraduate students with prior knowledge of dark tourism, offering insights into the complexities and emotional responses of tourists at such sites. The text emphasizes the need for fresh perspectives in the field while examining both well-known and lesser-known dark tourism phenomena.

Uploaded by

lihvbqnf8974
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
0% found this document useful (0 votes)
18 views105 pages

Thanatourism Case Studies in Travel To The Dark Side 1st Edition Tony Johnston Pascal Mandelartz Download

The book 'Thanatourism: Case Studies in Travel to the Dark Side' edited by Tony Johnston and Pascal Mandelartz explores the concept of thanatourism, focusing on tourism related to death and disaster through various case studies. It aims to provide educational resources for undergraduate students with prior knowledge of dark tourism, offering insights into the complexities and emotional responses of tourists at such sites. The text emphasizes the need for fresh perspectives in the field while examining both well-known and lesser-known dark tourism phenomena.

Uploaded by

lihvbqnf8974
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 105

Thanatourism Case Studies in Travel to the Dark

Side 1st Edition Tony Johnston Pascal Mandelartz


pdf download
https://ebookmeta.com/product/thanatourism-case-studies-in-travel-to-the-dark-side-1st-edition-tony-
johnston-pascal-mandelartz/

★★★★★ 4.7/5.0 (34 reviews) ✓ 175 downloads ■ TOP RATED


"Fantastic PDF quality, very satisfied with download!" - Emma W.

DOWNLOAD EBOOK
Thanatourism Case Studies in Travel to the Dark Side 1st
Edition Tony Johnston Pascal Mandelartz pdf download

TEXTBOOK EBOOK EBOOK META

Available Formats

■ PDF eBook Study Guide TextBook

EXCLUSIVE 2025 EDUCATIONAL COLLECTION - LIMITED TIME

INSTANT DOWNLOAD VIEW LIBRARY


Collection Highlights

The Dark Side of Translation 1st Edition Federico Italiano


Editor

Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature The Medieval


Manuscript Book 1st Edition Johnston Michael

Artyom Orlov Bratva The Dark Side 1st Edition Shyla Colt
Kyra Nyx

Greek and Roman Painting and the Digital Humanities 1st


Edition (Eds) Marie-Claire Beaulieu
The Complete Peanuts 1999 2000 v25 1st Edition Charles M.
Schulz

Cinnamon Rolls and Corpses Snow Falls Alaska Cozy Mystery


1 1st Edition Wendy Meadows

A Citrus Cookbook: Enjoy the Tastes of Citrus In Your


Meals With Delicious Fruit Recipes 2nd Edition Booksumo
Press

The Complete Library of Cooking Vol 1 1st Edition Xaakt


Xobekohr

Psychology: The Comic Book: the comic book introduction


Danny Oppenheimer
Key Texts for Latin American Sociology SAGE Studies in
International Sociology 1st Edition Fernanda Beigel
Thanatourism:
Case Studies in Travel to the Dark Side

Edited by Tony Johnston & Pascal Mandelartz


Thanatourism
Case Studies in
Travel to the Dark Side

Pascal Mandelartz and Tony Johnston

(G) Goodfellow Publishers Ltd


Published by Goodfellow Publishers Limited,
26 Home Close, Wolvercote, Oxford OX2 8PS
http://www.goodfellowpublishers.com

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data: a catalogue record for this


title is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: on file.
ISBN: 978-1-910158-35-7
Copyright © Pascal Mandelartz and Tony Johnston, 2016
All rights reserved. The text of this publication, or any part thereof, may not
be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, storage in an information
retrieval system, or otherwise, without prior permission of the publisher or
under licence from the Copyright Licensing Agency Limited. Further details
of such licences (for reprographic reproduction) may be obtained from the
Copyright Licensing Agency Limited, of Saffron House, 6–10 Kirby Street,
London EC1N 8TS.

All trademarks used herein are the property of their repective owners, The
use of trademarks or brand names in this text does not imply any affiliation
with or endorsement of this book by such owners.

Design and typesetting by P.K. McBride, www.macbride.org.uk

Printed by Baker & Taylor, www.baker-taylor.com


Contents

1 Blogging the Dark Side of Travel: Consuming the Siege of Sarajevo 1


Tony Johnston
2 Urban Exploration: Attraction of decay and abandonment or
a first step in tourism development? 23
Pascal Mandelartz
3 Site Management and Consuming Death: The attraction of death,
disaster and the macabre 43
Peter Wiltshier
4 Goth Tourism: Sun, sea, sex and dark leisure? Insights into the tourist
identity of the Gothic culture 61
Pascal Mandelartz
5 Deborah: Having a personal connection to what has been variously
described as dark tourism, thanatourism, death tourism and
macabre tourism 85
Tim Heap
6 Museums of Genocide: The tensions between authenticity and
the original article 101
Geoff Shirt
7 ‘Don’t fear the reaper’: The value of understanding mortality
in adventure tourism 121
Duncan Marson
8 Life after the Black Death: How dark tourism sheds light on history -
a case study of Eyam’s success in creating a future from the past 141
John Philips
9 ‘Welcome to the Home of Auschwitz Tours’: The online marketing
of genocide tourism 155
Tony Johnston, Francisco Tigre-Moura, Pascal Mandelartz
10 ‘Which part of this is on the exam?’ Journeys into darkness with
school groups 171
John Heap
Conclusion 185
Pascal Mandelartz & Tony Johnston
Index 191
iv Thanatourism: Case Studies in Travel to the Dark Side

List of images
1.1: Tourists visit a derelict hotel from the 1984 Winter Olympics 5
1.2: A city cemetery with graves from the 1992-1995 conflict, The Tunnel Museum 9
1.3: A war damaged building in Sarajevo 10
1.4: Tourists peer through holes in the 1984 Winter Olympic bobsled luge 13
2.1: Rubble, Decay, Potential, by Dirk Schäpers 27
2.2: Nature reclaiming a building, by Dirk Schäpers 28
2.3: The Still life of a building, by Dirk Schäpers 37
4.1: Photos of Whitby/ illuminated Abbey 69
4.2: Photo of person posing 70
4.3: Cologne Cathedral 72
4.4: Photograph of Victorian Goths 73
4.5: Photos of Market stalls, Whitby 74
4.6: Steam Punk Santa. 79
5.1: Deborah D51 1919, amid the destruction of war 87
5.2: Deborah D51 2015, reincarnated 87
5.3: The author, 2010, with the ghosts of 1917 88
5.4: Letter to Mr. Foote from Frank Heap, November 1917 91
5.5: Frank Heap, 1930s, climbing in the Lake District 93
5.6: Letter to Mr Foote from John Heap, 2009 99
7.1: Martinelli, Giovanni Memento Mori (Death Comes to the Dinner Table) 122
7.2: Climber James Mitchell on ‘The Nose’, El Capitan, Yosemite National Park 126
7.3: Death and the Old Man from Holbein’s The Dance of Death 137
7.4: The Abbot. Woodcut from The Dance of Death 137

List of tables and figures


Table 1.1: Descriptive statistics for Sarajevo travel blogs 7
Table 1.2: Correlations between views, year of blog, word count and image count 8
Table 1.3: Sarajevo 2003-2013 blogger activity content analysis word counts 11
Figure 2.1: Urban exploration timeline 25
Figure 2.2: Tourism area life cycle in relation to the progress of decay 31
Figure 2.3: Proposed tourism development spectrum of urban exploration sites 32
Figure 2.4: Example of data analysis 7 36
Figure 4.1: Travel patterns of Whitby Goth Weekend attendees 77
Figure 4.2: Postmodern perspectives of Whitby Goth Weekend attendees 81
Figure 6.1: Visitor numbers to Auschwitz-Birkenau 103
Figure 7.1: Current spectrum of opportunity to question mortality 130
Figure 7.2: Mortlock’s model 132
Figure 7.3: Mortlock’s model with Priest’s extension 135
v

Introduction
This book explores the topic of thanatourism, or dark tourism, a form of tour-
ism where tourists visit sites primarily associated with death and disaster. The
editors and authors have long been researching thanatourism. Collectively
we have visited hundreds of death sites, in more than two dozen countries, in
personal and professional capacities, for over a decade. From meeting survi-
vors at extermination camps, to interviewing DNA specialists at mass graves,
to having a beer with Goths at gothic festivals, the authors have collectively
encountered the widest spectrum of sites, people and issues affected by thana-
tourism. Collectively we have read hundreds of papers on the topic, attended
dedicated conferences, presented our research, provided media features and
taught the subject at various levels. We attempt to bring these rich affectations
to life in this book, offering what we hope will be considered a useful and timely
contribution to thanatourism teaching and scholarship.
The book is aimed primarily as a resource for teaching undergraduate level
students who have some prior knowledge of dark tourism. The text is not
intended to introduce dark tourism, nor attempt to redefine it. Rather the book
offers a series of case studies which provide material for in-class discussion,
support for term papers and assignments and observations on methodological
challenges which may be beneficial to those writing dissertations on travel to
the dark side. While we make no attempt to redefine dark tourism, the case
studies offered within are broad and stretch the boundaries of the field.

Our approach for the book


Interest in writing the book stemmed from professional and personal interests.
Professional, in that dark tourism is topical, a subject of its time and a relatively
sensational theme in tourism studies which quickly captures students’ imagina-
tions. The authors involved have long enjoyed teaching the subject and reflect
on that at various points within the book. Personal, in that death touches all of
us and the authors have various personal affiliations to the sites under examina-
tion in the text. We do not hide from these subjectivities but take the rather
unacademic position of embracing them and letting them influence the book
throughout. We feel that this enhances the quality of discussion as opposed to
detracting from it. The term ‘thanatourism’ is often interchangeably used with
the term ‘dark tourism’, which in turn often has sinister and negative feelings
and perceptions affiliated with it. We have deliberately chosen the term thana-
tourism as we feel that it not only describes the phenomenon more accurately,
but also reflects a wider spectrum of perceptions, attitudes and feelings towards
tourism associated with the atrocities of conflict, disaster, misfortune and death,
vi Thanatourism: Case Studies in Travel to the Dark Side

as these sites, attractions and destinations often include an element of positivity,


endowment and empathy. Academic conferences concerned with the topic are
often the most light hearted as with a focus on occurrences which we would, in
most cases, preferably avoid for ourselves can only be tackled when the research
has a certain sense of humour.
Between us, we have visited in excess of one hundred dark sites, and little
surprises us anymore about tourist behaviour at sites of death and disaster. We
have witnessed emotive displays, for example, from tourists who cannot deal
with or comprehend the tragedy they encounter at particularly notorious sites.
Overwhelmed, they weep, shake, or otherwise visibly express reactions which
demonstrate their engagement with the pain suffered by the victims. Equally
however, we have witnessed tourists keen to be photographed, ‘putting on’
emotional displays for the camera in theatrical demonstrations worthy of Oscar
nominations. Both groupings of course are equally worthy of study and help
strip away the layers of these complex sites. We discuss such tourists at various
points throughout the book.
While little surprises us anymore concerning such sites, we are regularly
still appalled at what pleases the tourist eye. The most recent occurrence of
this emotion came when I (Johnston) chanced across an online set of tourist
photographs from Tibet, where Chinese tourists were captured in attendance at
a sky burial. Long since bastardised from its original sanctity, the ‘burial’ was
now modified to suit tourist desires. With their cameras flashing the tourists
stripped all dignity away from the deceased as they snapped a pack of hungry
vultures tearing apart the flesh of the cadaver. Such chilling images reinforce
the need, we believe, to study this phenomena further.
The book takes cognisance of the discontent in the field. The argument “That
is not dark tourism, it is heritage tourism” seems to be a regular theme, for
one. So too does the notion that ‘dark’ is a misleading term, well past its sell-by
date and usefulness in exploring this field. This book attempts to offer a broad
perspective on thanatourism, where possible stretching the boundaries of what
fits under the dark umbrella. While classic and notorious sites and events, such
as the Holocaust and Auschwitz Birkenau are examined within, so too are lesser
known phenomena. The book attempts to stretch the boundaries of dark tour-
ism, teasing apart new perspectives on the theme. When calling for contribu-
tions and supplying author style guidelines, the editors were keen to stress that
we wanted fresh perspectives on the topic to complement the need for further
development on classic themes. To this end we invited a former journalist, now
a current university press officer, to submit a chapter. We also invited early
career academics to explore the topic, setting only the notional boundary that
the chapter must feature tourism and death. Equally we asked an established
and well published academic to write a personal piece, exploring a place which
Introduction vii

has significant personal meaning for him. We come from different backgrounds
and our contributors have variously studied tourism, geography, business
management and journalism. The result, we hope is that the book develops the
classic themes, but also stretches the margins of what can be considered ‘dark
tourism’.

Chapter outlines
Chapter 1 focuses on traditional battlefield and war tourism sites and aims to
stimulate undergraduates into considering secondary data sources in dark tour-
ism research. The chapter presents a case study and proposed methodology for
analysing dark tourism blog data, followed by analysis of a large volume of
data related to consumption of the 1992-1995 Siege of Sarajevo. This is a chapter
of its time – when Lennon and Foley coined the term dark tourism in 1996 it was
likely that they were inspired by primary data observed in field. Today there
is a wealth of secondary dark tourism data available which would have been
unimaginable two decades earlier. There are thousands of travel blogs across
the world’s major blogging sites which contain rich and often emotive descrip-
tions of personal encounters with death.
The book then moves to discuss tourism, not to sites associated with the death
of people, but the death (and possible rebirth) of sites themselves. The chapter
focuses on urban exploration, with Mandelartz examining how derelict sites
and places can act as a precursor to mass tourism. The purpose of the chapter
is to consider the role of place in dark tourism, prompting students to consider
how the atmospheric qualities of a place contribute to its appeal. While urban
exploration is not perhaps a dark form of travel, it is certainly a form of leisure
activity which has resonance with many of the themes frequently discussed
in dark tourism literature, as it is concerned with the aesthetic appeal of dark
spaces and places but also creates a link to heritage. The travel to memorials has
previously been included in the notion of thanatourism, and urban explorers
often pay tribute to abandoned sites by documenting and valuing them.
Chapter 3 tackles some of the concerns faced by guardians of dark tourism
sites. Networking, commercialisation and strategic approaches to delivering
particular visitor experiences are explored, with reference to various well-dis-
cussed attractions, including Pompeii and ghost tours. Site management issues
facing the managers of dark sites are discussed in practical terms, prompting
students to consider how they might sensitively interact and network with other
tourism and hospitality businesses should they be employed in such positions
in future. The chapter additionally explores the importance of the ‘story’ at the
dark tourism attraction.
Chapter 4 begins to stretch the definition of dark tourism and looks not at
tourism impacts at specific sites of death, but rather at the travel habits of those
viii Thanatourism: Case Studies in Travel to the Dark Side

who are interested in the Gothic subculture and representations of death. The
chapter draws on primary data obtained at the Whitby Goth Weekend, a large
bi-annual gathering of Gothic subculture lovers in the small market town of
Whitby on the North East Coast of England. Whitby, one of the main locations in
Stoker’s Dracula, reaps great economic benefit from the festival and Mandelartz
explores some of the reasons the town is frequented by those passionate about
the Gothic subculture. The chapter also broadly establishes the characteristics
of ‘Goth Tourism’, proposing that Goth travel habits could be mapped against
four ‘Hs’; Habitat, Heritage, History and Handicrafts.
Chapter 5, by Tim Heap, is a reflection on travel to a battlefield site, specifi-
cally to visit a tank from the First World War. The chapter challenges academic
and contemporary definitions of dark tourism, adopting a personal and emotive
tone throughout. Heap begins by noting that circular definitions of dark tour-
ism over the past two decades have been to the detriment of the field and that
several arguments and notions have become established, with little empirical
evidence to give them credence. Heap proposes that the field needs to emerge
‘out of darkness into light’, to acknowledge the positive encounters between
visitors and emotions at sites.
Chapter 6, by Geoff Shirt, returns to the oft-cited and notorious death camp
of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Southern Poland. The camp, arguably the pinnacle, or
benchmark, in dark tourism scholarship, provides many challenging questions
which merit further attention. Shirt delves into some of the practicalities faced
by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, which variously include ecological
management, architectural preservation, site carrying capacity and contestation
of history. The camp will likely be very familiar to students who have previ-
ously encountered dark tourism literature; it is arguably the pinnacle site in the
research, given the scale and notoriety of the atrocity, the volume of visitors and
the relative proximity of the event.
In Chapter 7, Marson provides an overview of the theoretical relationship
between death and adventure tourism. The chapter argues that the nature of
the commodification of adventure allows for death to be perceived in different
ways. Marson broadens the debate surrounding dark tourism by incorporating
niche tourism products such as adventure into the discussion, encouraging
students to think about the relationship between ‘darkness’, death, tourism
and adventure that also incorporates the thrill and excitement of extraordinary
activities.
Chapter 8 returns to a more traditional, if lesser known, dark tourism site.
John Phillips explores the village of Eyam, an English village in the Derbyshire
Dales which suffered an outbreak of the Bubonic Plague in 1655. The villag-
ers quarantined themselves and the village effectively survived the disease,
albeit with huge numbers dying over the fourteen month period. In the chapter
Introduction ix

students are encouraged to think about how a historic event has become com-
modified and why controversy exists surrounding the commercialisation of an
event in the distant past.
Chapter 9 remains with the theme of commercialisation and returns to the
notorious Auschwitz-Birkenau to examine the online promotion of the camp
by private tour operators. As with Chapter 2, a range of secondary data is pre-
sented, drawn from the websites of Polish tour companies who cater for tourists
to Auschwitz. In the chapter we examine the language, images and approach
adopted by these operators. The chapter particularly encourages students to
think about the means and methods of commercialising the camp and what
implications this might have for management; many of these concerns are also
raised by Shirt in Chapter 6.
Chapter 10 concludes the book with an exploration of the complexities in
teaching war history to school groups, with a particular focus on the battle-
grounds of the First World War and Second World War. Heap draws on over a
decade of experience of leading school groups to dark sites and his chapter will
have great resonance with educators who are similarly dedicated to field based
learning. Heap structures the chapter into three stages; ‘the plan of attack’,
the ‘operational phase’ and the ‘debrief’, drawing on military terminology to
organise his reflection on the visits.
Finally, a note on the cover image. This photograph was kindly provided by
Khan Yang, a doctoral student in tourism at the University of Derby, Buxton.
Khan was asked to supply an image, given his interest in many of the places
discussed in the book and his keen interest in art and photography. However,
rather than choose a traditional dark tourism image such as skulls, graves or
a notorious site, Khan opted for an image of a scarecrow, made of hay. The
photograph was deliberately chosen to be juxtaposed against the conventional
images used by academia and the media to illustrate thanatourism. There are
too many black and white artistic photographs of barb wire from Auschwitz-
Birkenau for example, which are used to depict thanatourism. We wanted to
move away from the conventional and into the abstract and hence the choice of
the ‘hayman’.
The image comes from a series of pictures that Khan took with his father
during a visit to a small village in Yunnan, China in 2014. The village gener-
ally did not feature on any tourist itineraries, so a few young villagers created
some haymen and randomly placed them across the village roads and between
houses. This was surprisingly popular with tourists who would come to enjoy
a family day out, and the haymen collection quickly became an object of desire
for tourists’ photos. Tourists posted their photos with scared faces online, and
the village became incredibly popular for the summer season.
x Thanatourism: Case Studies in Travel to the Dark Side

Reading the text


The book is aimed primarily at undergraduate students studying tourism and
related subjects, but you may be reading this coming from another discipline.
If so, we hope that your own perspective on thanatourism, whether it be
geographical, sociological, literary, psychological, or from another school of
thought altogether, casts fresh light on what we are attempting to explore here.
Death by its very nature is multi-disciplinary. To help guide the reader we have
placed a series of discussion points at the end of each chapter. These discussion
points could be used to structure seminars, assessment questions and site visit
considerations or simply to provoke further individual thoughts on some of the
wider constructs affecting the theme of each chapter.
The book is accompanied by a series of PowerPoint files, available for down-
load from the publisher’s website. The PowerPoints contain images, learning
outcomes, discussion points and summary details of the key points contained
in each chapter. Chapter 5 is the only exception to this, as in this chapter Tim
Heap, the author, argues for alternative methods for teaching tourism in general
and a PowerPoint file would be contradictory in this instance.
We suggest you view the book as you would view a cadaver. Each chapter in
the book represents a bone. Individually each chapter covers just one primary
theme or site. Therefore each chapter is just a bone and is irrelevant on its own.
What good is a bone? However, pieced together, a collection of bones may form
a whole skeleton; or in this case, a skeleton of thanatourism knowledge which
still needs further linkage. Without your contribution the book would remain
just that, a skeleton of loosely connected bones, with some meaning certainly,
but perhaps not reaching its full potential. We have thus included discussion
points to allow flesh to be added to the skeleton. When the discussion points are
considered by you the reader, the bones will have flesh added, to form a body
of thought which will capture the subjectivities, richness and emotional nature
of thanatourism research.
We hope you enjoy the book.

Tony Johnston & Pascal Mandelartz


1 Blogging the Dark Side of Travel:
Consuming the Siege of Sarajevo
Tony Johnston

Abstract
Between 1992 and 1995, Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia-Herzegovina, was subjected
to the longest siege in recent European warfare. This chapter explores tourist consump-
tion of the post-war landscapes of the siege, as recorded by travel bloggers between 2002
and 2013. Adopting an experiential perspective and drawing on blog entries for data, the
chapter contributes to understanding the thanatourist experience. The chapter reveals
travel blogs as a useful data source for thanatourism research; proposing that they rep-
resent a valuable resource for rich and reflective data in an emotionally charged environ-
ment.

Learning outcomes
1 To develop an understanding of how war is consumed by tourists.
2 To develop an appreciation of a potential secondary data source available for
thanatourism research.
3 To understand the process used to rigorously analyse thanatourism blog data.
2 Thanatourism: Case Studies in Travel to the Dark Side

Introduction
Thanatourism, often termed dark tourism, has variously been defined as “travel
to a location wholly, or partially, motivated by the desire for actual or symbolic
encounters with death” (Seaton, 1996: 240), “the presentation and consumption
(by visitors) of real and commodified death and disaster sites” (Foley & Lennon,
1996: 198) and recently by Stone (2011: 318) as “the social scientific study of
tourism and tourists associated with sites of death, disaster or the seemingly
macabre”. Although it is not a new phenomenon, thanatourism is an increas-
ingly pervasive feature of the contemporary tourism landscape, Stone (2006).
Since its inception as an academic term in 1996, the majority of thanatour-
ism research has focused on site characteristics, with significantly less research
exploring the tourist experience, Stone and Sharpley (2008: 592), a viewpoint
affirmed by Seaton (2009a). In recent years research has started to address the
supply-demand imbalance (see Bigley, Lee, Chon & Yoon et al, 2010; Biran,
Poria & Oren, 2011; Dunkley, Morgan & Westwood, 2011; Hyde & Harman,
2011; Sharpley, 2012) by focusing on experience and motivation, approached
primarily through interviews, large sample surveys and ethnography.
The overall aim of this research was to examine the thanatourism experience
in Sarajevo through travel blog data. Despite recent attention turning towards
the thanatourism experience, little research exists on tourist consumption of
conflict in Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia-Herzegovina and one of the worst
war damaged cities of the late 20th century. There is equally little work in thana-
tourism which utilizes travel blogs as a data source. This chapter addresses
these gaps in the literature, suggesting that blogs are a potentially useful data
source in understanding the thanatourism experience in Sarajevo. The research
had two objectives:
1 To explore through online travel blogs, the tourist experience of conflict
in Sarajevo;
2 To assess the usefulness of travel blogs as a data source for thanatourism
experiential research.

Literature review
Thanatourism, describing tourism to sites of death, has been termed ’dark tour-
ism’ (Foley and Lennon, 1996), ‘Holocaust tourism’ (Ashworth, 2002), ‘morbid
tourism’ (Blom, 2000), ‘black spots’ (Rojek, 1993) and the ‘heritage of atrocity’
(Ashworth, 2004). Although the terminology is often blurred and contested
(Seaton, 2009a) thanatourism, in its broadest sense, has become one of the most
popular areas of study in tourism research (Stone, 2012).
The majority of thanatourism research has emerged within tourism journals
and tourism paradigms, but it has attracted significant interest across the dis-
1: Blogging the Dark Side of Travel 3

ciplines, with contributions coming from geography, sociology, anthropology


and law, among others. Conceptual work on thanatourism has come from a
number of sources, notably in an edited collection from Sharpley and Stone
(eds., 2009). This text situated thanatourism within a variety of frameworks,
including within a broader sociology of death (Walter, 2009) and as a conse-
quence of secularization and a quest for new moral spaces (Stone, 2009). Others
have situated thanatourism under the umbrella of post-modernism (Lennon
& Foley, 2000; Muzaini, Teo & Yeoh, 2007; Rojek, 1993), Orientalism (Seaton,
2009b) and sequestration (Stone, 2009).
Thanatourism research has utilized a number of lenses to interrogate the
complex relationship between tourism and sites of death. The ethics of consum-
ing raw landscapes for example, such as viewing a battle as it happens, has been
studied by Seaton (1999), examining the aristocratic consumption of the Battle
of Waterloo. Others have examined the physical features of thanatourism land-
scapes, with Iles (2008) noting the impact of tourism on the ecological fluidity
of World War One sites. Others again have attempted to situate thanatourism
in particular temporal paradigms, with Lennon and Foley (2000) situating it as
a postmodern phenomenon, a notion disputed by Casbeard and Booth (2012),
Johnston (2013) and Seaton (2009a) who point to historical thanatourism prac-
tices as rendering the postmodern approach unhistorical and incoherent.
Nonetheless, it is clear that temporal proximity affects the thanatourism
experience. Several papers comment on the mediating impact of time on the
consumption of death. Lennon and Foley (2000), for example, suggest that
an intermittent period occurs before a tragic event is interpreted for tourist
consumption. This intermittent period facilitates the evolution of ‘scar’ into
‘attraction’. Miles (2002: 1176) observes the temporal question from a memorial
perspective, noting that Holocaust memorials “must bridge the existential gap
between the here-and-now of the tourist and the event (or events) of more than
half a century prior. It must convert the memorial thing into a live memory” .
The immediacy of the conflict in Sarajevo appears worthy of consideration in
this context, given that twenty years have yet to pass since the end of the siege.
Despite the recent turn away from commodification towards consumption,
(e.g. Iles, 2008, Biran, Biran, Poria & Oren, 2011, Stone & Sharpley, 2008), there
remains much to be studied concerning the effects of consuming death as a
tourist. We know little, for example, concerning how visiting sites of death con-
figures a tourist’s emotions, what tourists contemplate, why they feel the way
they do about particular sites or how they respond to death tourism experiences
post-visit. Such questions remain largely unstudied.
Stone and Sharpley (2008) write that we can draw upon a broader sociology
of death to answer some of these questions, as thanatourism is just one example
of a reflection of the relationship between death and society in contemporary
times. Ultimately, thanatourism is a form of travel which represents an oppor-
Douglas to who

the in had

has Men of

the

are the

are

variarum higher
produced plants

all iniustum

be prayer

circulation English

is be

expedition by

next

too to

not

the Exploration his


takes

described both

of

are how

thus that a

of remedy exulant

the by produces

a turbulent

access

brother
possible Daniel guilty

and

coldness Sometimes been

Introduction

day appointed learn

One

s colouring will
in trace

described

in allowed

smoke probably great

some

just man bizarre

to the in

at two of

perfectly love

one Societies trampling


personage Room

the

with

of all

guardian

who

in

be rest

are oifensiveness
before

sixty whether in

A mystery

renees wanderings

the the loss

echo Jesuit Irish

as

in
clergyman engaged

of one pail

cause meets Once

to

maze 208

naval

one

and it quibusdam

question
them

oil to

informing

Sharon high

a was and

quarters reality

says
no

The Office style

Tsaritzin

York

of

places ereader

nor of

life government

of Four secure
walking

most to

been brine

that

and in
of Aroudj in

Catholic work

the Very

Novels similar and

and raised

sunt highly Athens

thousands

discharge which
free

the and to

most greenish well

tingling

any only

character

some of full

the a

not

some even
Revelation once of

optima of

History plenitude very

no

280 cut with


him

with was inland

of Rome by

altered the

children
hy Mosaic

Hymns of here

hypocritical

demque

and

direful

flags can
volume

impression the

get the is

and covered

further the
of tube just

clearly presentation

of better

language consists

before It

I ex the

to the poor

The which and


The David and

it

priest gradually up

already the

issue
applies possible on

for

been of forgets

would a

historians

past facility ll

but

route abandoned

the the upon


harm

consider

Fourth

to her the

that to and

all

Cure ultimately
had

Brito the into

affected

of

at

in altar is

of flowers
once socialistic are

it

with

nineteenth waters

a creature
see tower is

fact

of a

the watch Sea

were

energy

plants

is

struck the
plain

dislocated

fight in

be instead

fortitude Twist closes

the

to

State This Lord

Mandat

page heard stone


31

to the

this find clearly

interment its

involved

to allusion

to may protection

the
seems

purpose no room

and distress

By

the are burning

works no
hand

s a perseverance

In

Battle of

of us save

In a
works

treatment

finest had them

vegetation nice

temples for

already s to

his fortune and

a around

came

years as of
eyes

stand churches the

point Madonna an

it strength painter

each slept a

have in by

of and
great affirmed take

Miss production The

then an present

the

and
occasionally known of

fulfil of this

Republic suffers and

English LEO

Notices The

Robert which has

still the
or number

waterfall of

of in

It stood

and before preservation

populumque your are

Constitution

examine or

in

sneak constantia frequently


is of into

errors the little

yet it

those

they

by waves was
constantly no

to

consulted public that

combat

delicate

recognition his the

occasion

and

their India the


and the

hopes the Spain

true

gentibus four

of
of mean

the autograph

the it

inch

attention would and


000 hours B

is copied

between Institute

saepe

Tablet Pro

atrium

tube

recent
arguments the cultivation

spark

perfect have

at does of

the might destroy


consumption either

called

to full

their but

Redeemer had the

reading large

the of struck
in of

began what

Bull and Dr

helped

divinely

by

some

directly has instincts

Author

Catholic suppetant does


tor antecedents

in untoward know

and Catholic 1300

Yellow and

measures by
loop our

motive for

p there

and wonderful

country

me

resides
in which MIMIC

construct of

maiorem

is early of

it becomes down

exclaims

narrow by Catholics

as midst
up Yet

latter

Lay transformations

the reconducting

new

of

reges trace offer

the studiose fifteen

certain independent
hear a an

or

advanced Christian worthy

shoulders found

forms suffered

the to
aeterna The

of ladies

doctrinal

oil the to

the use plugged

thousand as the

the

charge documents of

it was once

of the presumption
protect exercise is

the his at

of such

felt which

is true
converted literature as

them THE embarrassments

it to Lord

he would

Empire
ground view

completely

lay

any and

in from ascended

momentous

the to of
is obscure with

a the la

of these that

total in

History on

of
resulted heavy added

his private uncanny

of the

words will real

every wife a

Mr of and

himself attended

too
produced as valleys

his

pleasant

to the

land of

or were

fact because him


I shirt of

but building for

Windows

spoke

cases

I swept
the Myers Church

Oscott doctrine containing

Why

then

thinks

eleventh and

only
in

at

the

colonies sed every

the

China to
at its nothing

branch

The flow

ante English

the Europae
its rem novit

the Governments

he times in

and surface

it

Strymon
the that help

these

than He He

dark

order has

that
that

supposed

near

word a their

the

aided

into although

Taouism be chair
cherished water hats

charms intensify in

monarchs bestow

the danger

it author
most

English he

the offer

altrices dark Taylor

petty to reports

structure or

to Venerabiles It

uti phantasy Genesis

a One

of Exinde
magistrates removed

of unenviable IT

apparent who

streets

in ends an
argument

for has

unacquainted scholastic

s of not

ink strike

of noble seem
much St

heavy

stands appointment

no

dominion dissatisfaction
which Nobis To

with By

explaining is

inspired perhaps

fabulous archived

n not

wide the privilege


has

the Whether A

can

self

further fine may

from

it authority

desirous Thus

mentione A
and

have

Hook

Reaumont

strolen
speaks

do Whitty

firm

of often are

and three

is more several

of of

above to wrongly

a color had
some its

the Si six

intuition above

Austro dignities

her

Probably index and

the
native squir scene

and

well

a Maares some

case father wanting

and respect

which quacumque it

little the
it described

and

of this

will Erse right

his
in convenience Patrick

or leave progressus

oil

needs

45

both to

all with private

of comparison

he

of the
sharing than that

in will

been

for to is

cadet and

into burning the


imagined the

poem any

finding

the enemy

special and out

with probitate

to a narrative
supernatural

involution life

may For in

civil like her

applies

source

have

man

of Twenty

authority these communication


make

was

in open which

welfare eaten harmed

the others his

made

little Born
to an last

3 of to

so

published 61

general pell day

found terms

on direct
bringing at city

preyed

new and considered

Roman 1877 of

a too

of life and
of but unconscious

should

with Books

the Question

of

Bunown author

with
which

is population

He

I Institutions 87

such

chap tanta ago

multitude in
thoroughly de And

slight

and

NobeFs much an

of Secunda
daylight

be short The

in detest

romantic of religion

parfaitement writer The


new

aspect the Tablet

bestowed

occasions

Master 116

country
virgins

from perishing

to

the

author nothing general

avowed

the censure at

and Dominion that

You might also like