Disaster tourism

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The disaster tourism, and Dark tourism or Black Tourism called, is defined as the arrival of onlookers to places where there were tragedies. The prerequisite for this type of tourism is that the people did not come with the intention of helping, but out of pure curiosity. Such trips are part of individual tourism, as companies usually do not offer such trips. There are exceptions to this, for example in Chernobyl or the surrounding city of Prypiat. Ukrainian agencies offer tours for vacationers there.

Whether this type of tourism is legal or not depends on the responsible government and their laws.

Explanatory approaches

Psychologists see one reason in sensation seeking . The media psychologist Frank Schwab said of this phenomenon: "These are people who thirst for sensations", there is a hereditary component for this tendency. It is also gender-specific, since especially men in puberty up to the age of 25 who have higher testosterone levels are willing to take higher risks . “For some people it is not enough to watch dangerous situations on television. You have to go there yourself to feel the kick. "

Sensationalism is not the only reason for disaster tourism. Other reasons are that many people tend to seek psychologically but also physically challenging experiences. Others want to learn something from history or learn about the history of a country. For some tourists, this has an emotional background, as one is confronted with the suffering of the residents in such places.

Other reasons are that many people tend to seek psychologically but also physically challenging experiences. Others want to learn something from history or learn about the history of a country. For some tourists, this has an emotional background, as one sees oneself confronted with the suffering of the people in such places.

Auschwitz is an example of this. Many tourists take the opportunity to grapple with the suffering of Judaism, although an exciting experience is not intended. Another reason is that one does not want to fade the memory of these disasters as they are often reminiscent of human error. Now be it moral or technical mistakes. In general, sensationalism is a common reason for disaster tourism. Especially when it comes to visiting places where the disaster happened recently. In most cases, the investigations are not completed and there is therefore no learning effect. Often it is only about the impact of the disaster on the person.

Historical appearance

The beginnings of disaster tourism can be traced back to the beginning of conventional tourism. The origin of tourism in today's sense can be traced back to the development of the steam engine by James Watt in 1765. With the further development of the main means of travel (carriage and ships), more distant destinations could be reached more quickly. Even before tourism began, people traveled to places of disaster in the form of pilgrimages. Places with religious significance are often the destinations of pilgrimages and, according to the respective traditions, often scenes of accidents. "In the eleventh century, people and pilgrims often visited places with religious significance, such as Jerusalem, where the place where Christ was crucified is a popular attraction."

Above all, the fascination with death and misfortune in the 19th and 20th centuries recorded an increase in disaster tourism, including trips to the sites of great battles (so-called battle strolling ).

The origins of the disaster tourism field are traced back to the concept of dissonant heritage. The term was coined by GJ Ashworth (1994) and was used as one of the most important terms from which disaster tourism was constructed. The dissonant legacy describes the problem that visitors to these locations have in uniting past events with their values ​​and experiences. A cultural heritage is described as dissonant above all when different participants in this heritage have different views about the heritage and the events and consequences associated with it.

Disaster Tourism and Morals

The main part of the discourse on disaster tourism and morality results from the discussion about the representation of the deaths that took place there and the suffering of the people.

The representation and interpretation of disaster locations is especially important in educational work. The way in which something is presented influences perception. The type of presentation can have an impact on the number of visitors.

Most trips to disaster areas are private. The few travel companies that offer such trips use euphemisms to promote their products. This euphemistic representation of the events describes the reformulation of the tragedies that have occurred in order to relativize what happened there. This is intended to generate an ethically unobjectionable and morally acceptable representation that is intended to attract tourists.

The main part of the discourse on disaster tourism and morality arises from the discussion of the representation of the deaths that occurred on site and the suffering of the people.

In the mid-2000s, scientists found that visitor interests were significantly more diverse than initially assumed. There is no direct connection between morbid curiosity and voyeurism in terms of visitor motivation.

Trivia

As early as 1921, Karl Kraus wrote an advertisement in the Basler Nachrichten , with the idea of ​​car tours around the battlefield! was advertised to Verdun .

marketing

The marketing of disaster tourism is subtle. It takes a lot of sensitivity and respect for those affected. Furthermore, the subtlety ensures that tourists are not put off. It is noticeable that a whole market is developing around such places, but there are hardly any obvious offers. Many websites of travel providers deal with disaster tourism in a factual manner; the advertising for such places is then usually sent and inconspicuously incorporated as pure information communication.

The diversity of the audience is another great challenge. It is important for marketing to distinguish the reasons why people decided to visit this place. A fundamental distinction is made between four types of disaster tourist: those affected, they have a personal connection to the event, researchers with historical interest, people who feel strongly connected to death and the media as the last interest group.

Advantages and disadvantages

Disaster tourism generally offers advantages and disadvantages. As the psychologists Weidmann and Bräuninger found, disaster tourism offered the advantage of compensating financially for the damage caused by the disaster. The tourists who travel to the affected places due to the disaster often bring financial support and purchasing power with them. In Merapi, for example, after a volcanic eruption, disaster tourism was used as a source of income to financially compensate for repairs and any problems caused. Furthermore, the whole region is being commercialized, which stabilizes it financially. The disadvantage that arises relates to the flattening of tourism in terms of improving the situation. As soon as the situation improves, there is a possibility that tourism will regress and the financial construction based on it will collapse. This in turn leads to financial instability within the area.

Examples

Examples of events resulting in disaster tourism:

The trips to the area of ​​the Chernobyl disaster and to the ghost towns of Chernobyl and Prypiat belong to a type of disaster tourism.

Another form of disaster tourism includes visiting memorial sites such as Ground Zero or the Auschwitz concentration camp .

In 2018, tours began to visit the Fukushima disaster area.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ The fascination of horror Focus Online from February 10, 2011
  2. ↑ The phenomenon of dark tourism - the fascination of black tourism. In: Sandra Wickert. August 2, 2019, accessed on July 29, 2020 (German).
  3. ↑ Nitasha Sharma: Dark tourism and moral disengagement in liminal spaces . In: Tourism Geographies . tape 22 , no. 2 , March 14, 2020, ISSN  1461-6688 , p. 273-297 , doi : 10.1080 / 14616688.2020.1713877 .
  4. ↑ Ethan MOORE says, Disaster Tourism: Learning from the Worst in Human History. In: Netzpiloten Magazin. July 6, 2016, accessed July 29, 2020 .
  5. ↑ a b Dissonant Heritage. Retrieved July 29, 2020 .
  6. ↑ Karl Kraus: Karl Kraus Reading Book . Advertising trips to hell, p. 287 f .
  7. ↑ Zuger Neujahrsblatt 1913 , p. 26
  8. ^ Jaclyn Schildkraut, Glenn W. Muschert: Columbine, 20 Years Later and Beyond. 2019, p. 121 ff.
  9. ^ Moritz Piehler: Waiting for help. In: Spiegel Online. October 18, 2008, accessed October 18, 2008 .
  10. ^ Andreas Schwitzer: Disaster tourism in Italy: Gaffer on Giglio. January 20, 2012, accessed July 10, 2012 .
  11. ↑ Disaster tourism on Giglio: Ui, there is a ship! In: Süddeutsche.de. January 23, 2012, accessed July 10, 2012 .
  12. ↑ Excursion to the GAU area süddeutsche.de on April 21, 2006
  13. ^ Fukushima disaster area tour - Feel the reality of the disaster in a life-changing tour. In: Fukushima.tohoku-tour.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019 ; accessed on May 31, 2018 .