Visits are made to places linked with war, genocide, natural disasters, industrial accidents, abandoned cities, prisons and memorials. Some of these locations have been on tourism maps for many years. However, a newer trend has appeared where they are grouped under the term “dark tourism”, and even full tours are organised around them.
Social media, travel blogs and podcasts play an important role in introducing and spreading such trends. The historical, social and cultural meaning of these places is now presented through the idea of dark tourism. Sites such as Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan, the 9/11 Memorial in the United States, Pearl Harbor, former prisons like Alcatraz, battlefields, genocide memorials and cities preserved after volcanic eruptions such as Pompeii in Italy are widely recognised as dark tourism destinations.
In India, places such as Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar, the Cellular Jail in Port Blair and areas affected by the Bhopal gas tragedy are also seen as part of dark tourism. Historic forts and so-called haunted sites linked to tragic events are included as well. Affordable air travel, better connectivity, the growth of the tourism industry and the ease provided by the internet have all helped dark tourism gain popularity.
