Impact of Dark Tourism in the London Region - Coursework Example

Introduction The term ‘tourism’ has always been associated with a pleasurable experience, with adventure, fun and excitement. However, today it is possible to hear of different forms of tourism such as heritage tourism, pilgrimage tourism, health tourism and adventure tourism. Different forms of tourism helps the service providers to segment their market and accordingly develop promotional strategy. Visits to death sites and crematoriums have been prevalent for long. Travel to sites of death and disaster is known as dark tourism. Sites associated with war dead have always been major tourist attractions in the world although the term ‘dark tourism’ may not have been coined, Stone (2012). Battlefields, cemeteries and sites of natural disasters have always drawn tourists (Cohen, 2011). According to Smith (1998:205) destinations associated with war probably constitute the ‘largest single category of tourist attractions in the world’ (cited in Stone & Sharpley, 2008). The term ‘dark tourism’ was coined by Foley and Lennon although work has been previously conducted on tourism and death (Stone & Sharpley, 2008). However it is only recently that dark tourism has received the attention of researchers (Cohen, 2011) which is endorsed by Kang et al (2012) as the Holocaust site of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland received 1.2 million visitors in 2007 while Ground Zero in New York has attracted 3.5 million visitors. Dark tourism sites include battle sites and death camps, the death sites of celebrities and sites of extraordinary disasters. Purpose of research, motivation: While tourism has a pleasant connotation, ‘dark tourism’ does not give rise to the same feelings. However, availability of information and data from the internet has increased the demand for dark tourism (Travel Weekly, 2005). This has led to commoditisation of the concept and it is now ‘packaged’ to attract tourists. For instance, the London region has places such as Soham (Cambridgeshire) where murders of two young school girls Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman had taken place. Soham is now a day-trip destination, packaged by tour operators and visited by people from many parts of Britain to lay wreaths and sign the book of condolence. People of Soham are pleading with trippers to stay away (O’Neill, 2002) suggesting that people and the destination are adversely affected by such touristic activities. It can even lead to exploitation of the local people and the environment. London has several other dark tourism locations such as the Tower of London, the Bank of London, Larry King’s close, to name a few (Piplaw, 2012). It would thus be of interest to know: Research Questions What is dark tourism? Why is it called dark tourism? Why is referred to as ‘tourism’? How does dark tourism impact the tourism industry? Research Aims and Objectives With the aim to investigate the impact of dark tourism in the London region, the objectives of the research are: To investigate into the reasons that led visit to war sites and crematoriums to be known as tourist sites To identify the motivations that drive people to the sites of death and disasters To investigate how dark tourism impacts the London region Originality of the study The University of Central Lancashire has launched a dedicated academic centre for ‘dark tourism’ research (Brown, 2012). This suggests that dark tourism as such is a topic of interest and it has not been written much about. However, tourism and hospitality veteran Philip Stone has conducted research on some dark tourism spots such as Ground Zero, Chernobyl and the London Dungeon. While work on dark tourism has been done before but its existence and impact on the London region has not been investigated. Literature Review Tourist interest in death, disasters and atrocity is a growing phenomenon in the late 20th and early 21st century (Lennon & Foley, 2002, p5). These fatal attractions have become modern pilgrimage sites. In fact death is being commoditized for consumption in the modern world. While Lennon and Foley discuss about commoditization of dark tourism, Stone (2012) adopts a philosophical attitude to dark tourism. According to Stone dark tourism provides not only a place to link the living with dead but it is also an opportunity for people to contemplate on life and living in the face of inevitable mortality. Dark tourism sites give rise to various emotions such as fear, death, horror and violence. However, how many tourists or consumers of dark tourism are evolved enough to contemplate and derive meaning from such experiences? People do lay flowers and write condolence messages on their visit but this does not necessarily imply that they are moved spiritually. The fact that the local people at Soham want the trippers to keep away suggests that tourists have motivations other than contemplating on life and death. Cohen’s (2011) study demonstrates that dark tourism experience can be made meaningful and authentic through interaction with the affected population and such tours should be known as educational dark tourism. Since dark tourism includes recreational and entertaining sites, Cohen suggest including an educational dimension. This would help distinguish dark tourism experiences from recreational or voyeuristic ones. Educational dimension to such experiences increases the satisfaction of the tourists and they are able to derive meaning from the tour. However, a study by Kang et al (2012) found that field trips to dark tourism sites by educational establishments are ineffective as no experiential learning takes place. The authors identified the motivation for tourist visits to Jeju April 3rd Peace Park, Korea. This site represents one of the most destructive episodes in modern Korean history. According to the researchers, ‘obligation’ is a key motivation for the visit. However, ‘obligation’ might be relevant to the national tourists and may not attract visitors from other nations. Based on the benefit-based approach, the study also identifies the ‘benefits’ to the dark tourism experience providers and the consumers. Since no experiential learning takes place, it can lead one to assume that the benefits to the dark tourism experience providers could possibly be the reason that dark tourism is gaining popularity as according to Travel Weekly (2005) it is being packaged and ‘commoditized’. Podoshen (2012) identified dark tourism consumption motivations related to “blackpackers” and fans of the musical performance art known as black metal. Black metal songs and music create a dark and cold atmosphere but attracts tourists. The study found that simulation and emotional contagion were the key motivating factors related to black metal. The author suggests that psychological motivations behind dark tourism needs further investigation as the author believes that consuming dark tourism experience is an interactive process involving the tourist and the site. Stone and Sharpley (2008) focus on the demand side of dark tourism as they found that most of the research has focused on the supply side. The authors explore the relationship between mortality and dark tourism as a means of confronting death in modern societies. According to the authors, dark tourism has more to do with life and living, instead of dead and dying. Hence dark tourism can help people to derive meaning of life and lead to personal well-being, according to the authors. However, how many visitors to such sits go with such motivation or how many are able to derive such meaning in life, needs to be investigated further. The literature reviewed here suggests that authors have been investigating the service provider motivation and benefits or the consumer benefits. None of the studies have investigated the impact that dark tourism can have on the region or the site, the impact on the local people, the impact on the environment, on the local economy or the infrastructure. Method of research The phenomenon in this study to be investigated is the impact of dark tourism in London region. The impact of dark tourism can range from impact on the environment, impact on the economy, impact on the society and its people and the impact on the local culture. Since this would make a very wide concept difficult to handle in one study, the scope of the study would be limited to investigate the impact on the economy and the environment. Research Design The research design involves the process of data collection presentation and analysis. This would be a qualitative study because the focus is on facts and opinions and not on numbers and figures. The objective is to understand the tourist motivation which means the study design must enable to gain insight into the minds of the people. It is also important to evaluate why tourists are attracted to dark tourism sites, which once again requires insight into their thoughts and reasons. The reasons that led visit to war sites and crematoriums to be known as tourist sites could well be in the interest of the service providers who have commoditized the concept of dark tourism for personal gains. This implies that local economy may be positively impacted. Hence qualitative study would help achieve the study objectives. While literature review would help develop the framework for the study, primary data will be collected through face-to-face interviews of tourists at the dark tourism sites around London. Sites such as the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain, Hyde Park or Soham and the Tower of London would be selected to encounter and extract information from tourists as to what motivates them to visit such sites. In addition, the local people would be interviewed to evaluate how their lives, the environment and the local economy have been impacted due to dark tourism. The questions for primary data collection would be formulated only after literature on the subject is reviewed and the theoretical framework devised. Secondary data on the subject would be obtained through academic journals, websites through reputed search engines such as Google and Yahoo! Sampling Sampling is an important part of research and sampling should be homogeneous so that the outcome can be generalized. Efforts would be made to keep the population sample as homogeneous as possible. However, no sampling strategy would be applied since tourists willing to participate in the study would be interviewed. It is proposed to interview at least 5 people from two different dark tourism sites. As far as the local people are concerned, at least three people from two dark tourism sites would be interviewed. In this case also application of sampling strategy is not possible. Local people would be randomly selected and asked the relevant questions. Data Collection Data would be gathered through in-depth open-ended interviews as they enable two-way communication. For this study open-ended questions are essential as it would enable the respondents to add their views, opinions, feelings and emotions. Interviews by themselves are a form of social encounter that enable the researcher to observe through body language, the nuances and the emotions that accompany the words. These gestures convey much more meaning than mere words. Open-ended questions would also enable the researcher to amend the questions if necessary, depending upon the responses. Data Analysis Data analysis would be conducted through the method of triangulation. Data from different sources would be merged and efforts made to observe similarities. These would then be evaluated against the literature and theories on the subject. Time and costs The estimated time for the study is as follows: Proposal Approval Two weeks Review of Literature Two weeks Formulation of Questions Two days Primary Data collection Three weeks Assimilation of Data One week Presentation of Findings One week Data Analysis Two weeks Presentation of Dissertation Three weeks Total time expected to be taken 14 weeks Resources and Costs This study requires expenses such as library access subscription, access to computer, internet access and travel costs to interview people. Travel may also require the researcher to stay overnight at the dark tourism sites. These resources and costs are within the researcher’s ability and no limitations on these counts are envisaged. Limitations to the study While access to the library will not be an issue, it is not known to what extent relevant material would be available. Efforts would be made to use the most recent material as questions for the interview would be formulated based on the literature. It is not known to what extent tourists would be honest in their opinions while responding to the questions. References: Brown, M (April 25, 2012) Central Lancashire University launches dark tourism research centre. wired.co.uk http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-04/25/dark-tourism Cohen, E.H. (2011) EDUCATIONAL DARK TOURISM AT AN IN POPULO SITE: The Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem, Annals of Tourism Research, 38 (1): 193-209 Kang, E. et al (2012) Benefits of visiting a ‘dark tourism’ site: The case of the Jeju April 3rd Peace Park, Korea, Tourism Management, 33, 257-265 Lennon, J. & Foley, M. (2002). Dark Tourism: the Attraction of Death and Disaster. http://books.google.co.in/books?id=ZY6Xn4DmuCoC&pg=PA1&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=4#v=onepage&q&f=false ONeill, S (2002) Soham pleads with trippers to stay away. The Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1405391/Soham-pleads-with-trippers-to-stay-away.html Piplaw (May 29, 2012). Scariest Dark Tourism Locations In London. http://fuzzygoon.com/scariest-dark-tourism-locations-in-london/ Podoshen, J.S. (2012) Dark tourism motivations: Simulation, emotional contagion and topographic comparison, Tourism Management, 1-9 Stone, P.R. (2012) DARK TOURISM AND SIGNIFICANT OTHER DEATH Towards a Model of Mortality Mediation. Annals of Tourism, 39 (3): 1565-1587 Stone, P. & Sharpley, R. (2008) CONSUMING DARK TOURISM: A Thanatological Perspective, Annals of Tourism Research, 35 (2): 574-595 Travel Weekly. (June 24, 2005) The Choice of Travel Professionals. Issue 1775 Read More