Dr Charlotte Russell & Dr Nicola Cann, Travel Psychologist Team
Auschwitz, Pearl Harbour, Hiroshima, and Chernobyl are places that you will have heard of. These locations and our knowledge of the tragedies that occurred are etched in our minds in a much more solid way than our high school trigonometry. It is natural for death and disaster to ignite human curiosity, and for our minds to remember stories related to this. But what motivates us to visit these sights and is this a good thing?
According to Dr Lea Kuznik in her chapter ‘Fifty shades of dark stories’:
“Dark tourism is a special type of tourism, which involves visits to tourist attractions and destinations that are associated with death, suffering, disasters and tragedies.”
There are a number of factors that motivate people to visit dark tourism sights (Kuznik, 2018). These range from curiosity and horror to empathy, remembrance and education. For those who were involved in some way with the tragedies, nostalgia and survivor’s guilt may also be important reasons to visit.
It’s natural to be intrigued by sites associated with human tragedy. We visit such places in order to learn and understand, to connect with our own history and identity, and out of simple curiosity (Morgano et al., 2022). Dark tourism sites can also offer stories of hope and solidarity, elicit empathy for victims, and help us to understand the culture of the place we are visiting.
Whilst some dark tourism sites can feel exploitative, benefits to the hosting community include income from tourism, preservation of historical sites and artefacts, and an opportunity to tell the stories of victims.
How do we make moral decisions about visiting dark tourism sites?
Many of us will have found ourselves being caught up in the travel experience and perhaps visiting places that, in the planning stages of our trip, we had ruled out for moral reasons. Dr Nicola shares a personal experience here. “When I visited Vietnam last year for example I booked a tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels near Ho Chi Minh, and was encouraged to buy an add-on experience of shooting an AK47 during my visit. Everyone else was doing it, and before I’d really considered my moral position on this I found myself aiming the barrel of my gun towards a target, while a bored looking attendant got ready to reload my gun.”
This example illustrates the power of the social context when we’re making moral choices. Social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2002) emphasises the role of the context over the individual, and suggests that moral actions are the product of the complex interplay between personal and social influences. We don’t make moral choices in a vacuum.
The way we respond to our social context when making moral choices depends on a number of self-regulatory processes. We make comparisons between our own moral stance and that of the social context we’re in at the time. This can prove especially tricky when we’re travelling as we are outside of our usual social context, and away from the usual parameters by which we judge our own behaviours. This makes us more likely to experience an ethical shift.
We all want to believe that we are good people, so we use a range of self-regulatory processes to monitor our own conduct, adjust it to the social situation, and then justify our behaviour afterwards. This allows us to maintain our belief that we are good people even when we have shifted our ethical boundaries (Sharma, 2021).
Social cognitive theory suggests there are four main self-regulatory processes through which we make moral choices:
- Considering the situation to decide how acceptable our behaviour is in that context.
“Maybe I wouldn’t usually do this but in this context it feels ok.”
2. Evaluating how much personal responsibility or involvement we have.
“This feels uncomfortable but everyone else on the tour is doing it so I’ll go along with it.”
3. Judging the consequences of our actions.
“What damage will it do if I visit this place?”
4. Considering the perspectives of the ‘victims’.
“Does this experience feel like a respectful way to represent these people’s stories?”
These self-regulatory processes and moral choices are also informed by the dark tourism setting. Often such places are geared towards a positive tourist experience, so strategies may be employed to minimise our discomfort. For example, subtle use of language can dehumanise victims and shift blame, which will influence our perspective of those victims and our sense of responsibility towards them. Tours that are marketed as exciting and action packed may in fact be distracting us from their more transgressive nature. So in order to make good moral choices we need to pay attention to these contextual factors alongside the self-regulatory processes we’re employing.
What kinds of behaviours are disrespectful at dark tourisms sights and sites?
Dr Charlotte shares her personal experience here “I’ve visited a few sights myself that would be considered dark tourism. The most memorable was Pearl Harbour in Hawai’i. It was a strange experience to visit such a tragic place especially when it was part of a day tour of the island and included much more light-hearted activities like visiting a pineapple plantation. I found myself feeling very subdued. I was especially surprised to see families taking selfies together. Whilst I don’t want to judge, it struck me as a little insensitive.”
Whilst what Dr Charlotte witnessed was a fairly minor transgression, Dr Nitasha Sharma (2020) a Lecturer in Dark Tourism at the University of Alabama, points out that tourist behaviour can be much more disrespectful and inappropriate:
“There are numerous examples of tourist transgressive behavior reported in the media that have sparked moral outrage time and again. Examples include: tourists touching the dead bodies at Trunyan cemetery in Bali; tourists holding an inflatable sex doll at the 9/11 Memorial in New York; tourists taking selfies on the railway tracks at Auschwitz; tourists taking photographs with inappropriate poses at the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe; tourists indulging in artwork or graffiti and defacing sacred monuments and buildings, and other acts of vandalism.”
Why might people behave disrespectfully when visiting dark tourism sights and sites?
Sharma (2020) explained that tourists may disengage from their usual values when behaving disrespectfully, and this can happen by the following processes:
· Reconstruing the conduct so that it is not considered immoral (e.g. “it’s not that bad”)
· Minimising personal involvement (e.g. “I wasn’t that involved” or “others were doing worse”)
· Misrepresenting or discounting the negative consequences (e.g. “It didn’t hurt anyone”)
· Blaming or devaluing the recipients of the unethical act (e.g. “they’re just too sensitive”)
As well as the above, being on a trip can make individuals feel less identifiable than in their usual day to day lives, or they may feel a sense that the usual rules don’t’ apply. This is of course incorrect, but can give us an insight into why people may behave in such a way that we may struggle to understand.
The way that a dark tourism sights have been marketed and ‘sold’ can also be important for how people behave. In order to understand this further, I interviewed Dr Sharma. She explained that one of the problems with dark tourism is the commercialisation of death and tragedy. I’m sure we can all think of examples of when ghost tours or similar have been sold as a fun and light-hearted entertainment.
Dr Sharma also explained that Eastern traditions are often ‘exoticized’ for a Western tourist audience. This involves traditional rituals being portrayed as different or unusual in a way that is romanticised, and marketed for entertainment value. As thoughtful tourists it is important for us to recognise that ultimately this is disrespectful.
Can dark tourism ever be responsible?
We think so; as an example we would consider Berlin’s history museums and memorials to be respectful and sensitive forms or dark tourism. These aim to educate and provide opportunities for remembrance. The information provides insight into the political context that contributed to the tragedies in a way that educates openly and does not glamourise or aim to entertain. The memorials humanise by telling the stories of people who died in the tragedies, and it hits home that these were real people. This helps us to understand and appreciate the magnitude of what happened.
Likewise, Dr Charlotte recently visited two museums in Mexico city that dealt sensitively with the topic of human sacrifice: the Museo Nacional de Antropología and Museo de templar meyor. Both museums provided education on what we know about human sacrifice in Mesoamerican culture in an appropriately subdued manner. Both are excellent if you ever get the opportunity to visit.
What are red flags to look out for?
Be wary of any experiences that appear to be geared towards entertainment and fun rather than being educational, or focused on remembrance. Let’s take the example of the human sacrifice in the Mesoamerican culture. The museums and tours that Dr Charlotte experienced were very factual and subdued about the topic. In contrast, red flags might be things like opportunities to pose at the top of a sacrificial alter or having photographs with a sacrificial knife. Thankfully this didn’t happen but it gives you an idea of what to look out for when it comes to unethical tours.
As Dr Nicola pointed out earlier on in the article, it’s easy to get swept up in these experiences because you will be encouraged to and because others will be doing it. In order to be thoughtful and ethical it is necessary to think in advance about what we consider to be ok and not ok.
Advice for visiting dark tourism sites ethically
We would strongly advise that you think in advance about how you will approach your visit to the dark tourism site before you visit. This is because it is difficult to think on the spot due because we can be easily swayed by what other people are doing and what seems to be ok in the moment. Preparing yourself means that you have thought carefully about the magnitude of visiting a dark tourism location, and acknowledged the potential emotional impact of visiting.
In preparation for your visit we would recommend the following:
- Do your research. If you choose to visit a dark tourism site, know what to expect so that you can be emotionally prepared.
- Actively consider your motivations for visiting and decide what you want to get out of the experience.
- Understand that you might experience feelings of guilt and discomfort and decide how you will manage this.
- Know your own limits so that you are less likely to be caught up in the moment and engage in an experience that you later regret.
- Critically evaluate the dark tourism experience. What language is being used? How are people being represented? What information is not being presented?
- Take responsibility for your actions e.g. make yourself aware of the rules and customs associated with the culture and dark tourism site you are visiting.
- Reflect on your own position and culture in relation to the dark tourism site. Acknowledge and respect any differences.
- Make sure you visit the dark tourism site in a way that allows you to learn from the experience e.g. going with a reputable tour guide, or with friends who you are able to have challenging conversations with.
Dr Sharma also has some great advice about behaving ethically when you visit:
“Since dark tourism sights often deal with taboo and polarizing topics which can be sensitive for certain stakeholder groups, the first step is to be respectful and sensitive towards the history of the sight, the victims and the communities involved.
This involves actions like carefully following signs, rules, and regulations at the sight and being careful of one’s body language. For example, if a sight prevents photography, it is advisable that tourists follow that strictly. While sometimes it is okay to take photos as a reminder of painful memories, it is insensitive to step on sacred sights, monuments and objects or pose for selfies. In a nutshell, I would say that tourist behaviour at dark tourism sights must involve the 3 A’s : Acknowledge, Awareness, and Act Responsible.
(a) Acknowledge the history of the sight and trauma of the victims
(b) Acknowledge one’s own privilege and positionality while encountering death rituals or traumatic events that are culturally different from your own
(c) Be aware of the rules, regulations, rituals, and customs associated with the culture and the dark tourism sight in question, and
(d) Act in a responsible manner.”
What a perfect way to sum up this topic. There are genuine reasons to visit dark tourism sites and sights, but acknowledging the tragedy, being self-aware and behaving responsibly are key to being respectful when we visit.
References
Bandura, A. (2002). Selective moral disengagement in the exercise of moral agency. Journal of moral education, 31(2), 101-119.
Dark tourism: when tragedy meets tourism | National Geographic
Dark Tourism | Psychology Today United Kingdom
Lennon, J. (2017). Dark tourism.
Magano, J., Fraiz-Brea, J. A., & Leite, Â. (2022). Dark tourists: profile, practices, motivations and wellbeing. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(19), 12100.
Kuznik, L. (2018). Fifty shades of dark stories. In Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, D.B.A. (Ed.). Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology (Fourth Edition). (pp.4077-4087). Pennsylvania: IGI Global.
Sharma, N. (2020). Dark tourism and moral disengagement in liminal spaces. Tourism Geographies, 22(2), 273-297.
Sharma, N. (2022). Acknowledging the Shades of Grey: The Past, Present and Future of Dark Tourism in India. In Indian Tourism (pp. 125-142). Emerald Publishing Limited.
If you liked this article please check out How to travel ethically
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