Dark tourism (also black tourism or grief tourism) is tourism involving travel to sites associated with death and tragedy. Thanatourism,[1]derived from the Ancient Greek word thanatos for the personification of death, is associated with dark tourism ut refers more specifically to violent death! it is used in fewer conte"ts than the terms dark tourism and grief tourism. #he main draw however to these locations is mostly due to their historical value rather than their associations with death and suffering.[$]#his includes castles and attlefields such as %ulloden in &cotland and 'ran %astle and (oienari %astle in )omania! sites of disaster, either natural or man made, such as *iroshima (eace +emorial (ark in ,apan [-], %hornoyl in .kraine [/] [0] [1]and the Ground 2ero in 3ew 4ork!Auschwit5 concentration camp [6]! prisons now open to the pulic such as 'eaumaris (rison in Anglesey, 7ales! and purpose uilt centers such as the 8ondon 9ungeon, the &pirit 8ake :nternment %amp centre (near 8a ;erme, ing +assacre +emorial *all in 3an>ing and the #uol &leng Genocide +useum in %amodia.9ark #ourism ecame a field of study in 1??1 when the term was coined y (rofessor ,ohn 8ennon and +alcolm ;oley of Glasgow %aledonian .niversity. &cholars have analy5ed oth recent and ancient settings which attract visitors and are associated with death. &cholars of the field hope to understand tourist motivation for visiting such locations.[@] 9r. (hilip &tone, a senior lecturer at the .niversity of %entral 8ancashire, is another one of the individuals currently studying this field. *e has written several >ournals and given presentations on the su>ect. *e has tried to determine moral and social effects of dark tourism, pointing out how individuals come together in these places associated with grief and death. &tone has also stated how dark tourism represents immorality so that morality may e communicated.[?] :n 8atin America, +a"imiliano A. Borstan>e continued the contriutions of &tone to e"pand the current understanding of disasters, massCdeath and sanctuaries such as the tragedy of %romaDEn where 1?/ attendants lost their life in a music festival. 9ark tourism would e a mechanism of resiliency that helps society in the process of recovery after a disaster or cathastrophe, aform of domesticating death in a seculari5ed world.IntroductionDark tourism is the act of travel and visitation to sites, attractions and exhibitions which have real or recreated death, suffering or the seemingly macabre as a main theme. This is not a new phenomenon. For many years now dark tourism has been part of our fascination, dating back to the pilgrims. Now however we seek it for very different reasons. Most recently !round "ero# in $merica, marking the collapse of the twin towers, has become an essential part of the ever expanding dark tourism sector.%riginal article& Dark Tourism& $ Fine 'ine (etween )uriosity and *xploitation by The Travel+ine for today#s ,agabond , Tuesday *dition - %ctober ./, .00/Essay by David EkesongMaster in Tourism Destination Management student 2008/2009#he article refers to different types of tourism that may e categori5ed as dark tourism. #he different types of dark tourism include Grief #ourism which is a kind of sightseeing that many of us have een doing naturally for years. 'asically, you can define grief tourism as eing when you travel somewhere to visit a scene of some tragic event! 9isaster #ourism refers to an onslaught of visitors following some kind of natural disaster, such as those visiting southCeast Asia following the $FF/ tsunami crisis, or people travelling to 3ew Grleans to see the aftermath of *urricane Batrina, are oth e"amples of disaster tourism! (overty #ourism which usually features tours to slum areas and poverty stricken towns! &uicide #ourism 7hichgenerally takes two forms. #he first involves people travelling to a particular destination with the intention of committing suicide, often y >umping from a famous landmark. &tatistics prove that a significantproportion of suicide cases at wellCknown tourist attractions are tourists, although itHs not clear whether their trip was planned around this.A second form of suicide tourism takes into account the various laws related to euthanasia in different countries. ;or e"ample, in several Auropean countries like 'elgium, the 3etherlands and &wit5erland, active euthanasia is not illegal, and terminallyCill people sometimes travel there to end their life legally! 9oomsday #ourism which has to do with the elief that the end of the world is coming,Gr at the very least, the end of certain tourist attractions is coming. 9oomsday tourism refers to the thinking that you should hurry up and visit particularplaces which are under threat, usually as a result of environmental prolems and gloing warming.7hile : have nothing against those who get involved in one form of dark tourism or another, : find it rather ironic that tourism which contriutes enormously to emissions and thus gloal warming still grows in the wake of its own impact. :n other words, the notion of gloal warming eing a tourism attraction while tourism itself is contriuting to the gloal warming phenomena is not only preposterousut outrageous to say the least.Tourism is travel for predominantly recreational or leisure purposes, and also refers to the provision of services in support of this act. According to the 7orld #ourism Grgani5ation, tourists are people who Itravel to and stay in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, usiness and other purposes not related to the e"ercise of an activity remunerated from within the place visitedI.#ourism has ecome an e"tremely popular, gloal activity. :n $FF/, there were over 61- million international tourist arrivals.[1]As a service industry, tourism has numerous tangile and intangile elements. +a>or tangile elements include transportation, accommodation, and other components of ahospitality industry. +a>or intangile elements relate to the purpose or motivation for ecoming a tourist, such as rest, rela"ation, the opportunity to meet new people and e"perience other cultures, or simply to do something different and have an adventure.#ourism is vital for many countries, due to the income generated y the consumption of goods and services y tourists, the ta"es levied on usinesses in the tourism industry, and the opportunity for employment and economic advancement y working in the industry. ;or these reasons, 3GGs and government agencies may sometimes promote a specific region as a tourist destination, and support the development of a tourism industry in that area. #he contemporary phenomenon of mass tourism may sometimes result in overdevelopment! alternative forms of tourism such as ecotourism seek to avoid such outcomes y pursuing tourism in a sustainale way.#he terms tourism and travel are sometimes used interchangealy. :n this conte"t travel has a similar definition to tourism, ut implies a more purposeful >ourney. #he terms tourism and tourist are sometimes used pe>oratively to imply a shallow interest in the cultures or locations visited y tourists. Dark tourismJ is the travel to sites associated with death and suffering. #he first tourist agency to specialise in this kind of tourism started with trips to 8akehurst, 3ew ,ersey, the scene of the*indenurg airship disaster.Dark Tourism: A Diferent Take on Philippine Tourism0 commentsPosted by Alexandra Salcedo on Mar 5, 2013 in History and Culture, Travel: Destination, PhilippinesDark Tourism is defned by Dr. Philip Stone of the University of Lancaster in 2005 as the act of travel and visitation to sites, attractions and exhibitions which have real or recreated death, sufering or the seemingly macabre as a main theme.He also believes that the rising phenomenon of Dark Tourism can be attributed to the visitors quest for a sense of meaning in places of sufering, which allow time for a sense of empathy with those involved before stepping back into the safety of their own lives.Its a by-product of a new space in a secular world, where tourists attempt to connect with death and their morals without the traditional framework of religion, he added.Examples of tourist destinations that may be categorized under Dark Tourism: Westminster Abbey in London, St. Peters Basilica in Vatican City, Taj Mahal in India and the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. All of these are burial sites of people that are famous throughout history.Places where great tragedy took place like Ground Zero in New York City, Pearl Harbor in Hawaii and the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland can also be considered under this category.This is an interesting and diferent take in Philippine tourism. Remnants of our colonial past are worth exploring for its rich, cultural signifcance. It also provides a new opportunity for foreign nationals and locals to view a diferent facet of the country.With the increasing popularity of dark tourism, there should be an ethical way to develop and manage it. There is a tendency for tourists to desecrate these grounds by conducting all sorts of paranormal activity to call on spirits from the other side. Here in the Philippines, the fascination for the supernatural phenomenon can turn into a major problem.According to the Pinay Solo Backpacker, its the question of how dark is dark tourism that youre participating in and of your intention (which unfortunately no one can tell but you). While there are places that are safe and okay to visit like the century old churches, war memorials and mausoleums, there are those darkest of the dark tourism like visiting a place where a tragedy just took place or a killing istaking place that should be avoided.Some of the popular sites under Dark Tourism here in the Philippines are Paco Park & Cemetery, San Agustin Church Museum in Intramuros, Baguio City and Corregidor Island. San Agustin Church, IntramurosPhoto Credit: blissful-weddings.comPaco Park and CemeteryCorregidor IslandIn every tourist destination, it is expected of the visitors to be socially, culturally and morally responsible.Dark TourismMy !ascination "ith #emeteriesDark Tourism is the act of travel and visitation to sites, attractions and exhibitions which have real or recreated death, suffering or the seemingly macabre as a main theme (as mentioned by thepinaysolobackpacker.com). Honestly, I didn't know that there's such a term not until she posted an article about it on her blog. In my previous travels, I have been visiting remarkable cemeteries in different parts of our country. I have acquired a fascination not only on heritage houses but also with old and interesting cemeteries that are rich in history and has a lot of "out of the ordinary" story to tell. I visit cemeteries because of its rich historical value, notable architecture and vibrant past. hese cemeteries had been part of our rich culture and heritage, thus, paying a visit brings me back to the past. !ith this, I want to take you to some of the cemeteries that I've visited in my previous travels.Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery"ocation# Nagcarlan, Laguna$ate of visit# July 4, 2010%uilt by the &ranciscan 'issionaries in 1851, this cemetery is said to used as an underground crypt were &ilipino revolutionaries plotted against the (panish rule. It is also a known fact that cemeteries like this is where only the elite )atholic families were buried during that time. %ecause of it's rich history, this burial ground has been inscribed by the *ational Historical Institute as a National Historical Landmark.his visit is part of our +,day !estern "aguna -oad rip. )lick here to read more.San Joaquin Roman Catolic Cemetery"ocation# an Joa!uin, "loilo$ate of visit# No#ember 22, 2010he most compelling feature of this century,old -oman )atholic cemetery is theCam!o Santo sitting on a hill overlooking the sea. his chapel is popular for its intricate baroque architecture with oriental influences.It is even made more impressive by the grand stone staircase approaching the beautiful chapel.he chapel is made of white coral and fossil stones alternating with coral stone,red bricks. It is said to be used by the locals during the early days, to celebrate the holy mass before a burial.his visit is part of our Iloilo,.uimaras adventure last year. )lick here to read more."aco Cemetery"ocation# $aco, %anila$ate of visit# &ebruary ', 2011/robably one of the oldest cemeteries in our country, "aco "ark is 'anila0s municipal cemetery during the (panish colonial period. 'ost of the wealthy families during that time interred the remains of their loved ones here. ough it was originally planned as a municipal cemetery for the well,off and established upper,class (panish families who resided in the old 'anila, it was also used to bury victims of a cholera epidemic that swept across the city during that time.1ur national hero, Dr# Jose Ri$al was secretly interred here by the (paniards after his execution in %agumbayan in $ecember 23, 4567. It is also the final resting place of the three &ilipino martyr priests, 'ario .ome8, 9ose %urgos and 9acinto :amora%&'()UR*+,, who were executed by the (paniards in 45;+ for their participation in an uprising against (pain.his visit is part of our /aco /ark and )emetery weekend early this year. )lick here to read more.Camiguin-s Sunken Cemetery"ocation# (atarman, (amiguin$ate of visit# )ugust *, 20111ne of the most photographed sites in )amiguin. he sunken cemetery is a result of the volcanic birth of (t# .ulcan. (ome areas in the town of %onbon diminished during that time that led to the sinking of thetown's cemetery to below sea level. In 465+, a huge white cross was erected to mark the cemetery that was swept by the said eruption.his visit is part of my visit to )amiguin last