DARK TOURISM

Dark Tourism

Dark Tourism

Introduction

Tourism in any form has remained significant since decades as people love to travel and explore different parts of the world. This has bought immense profits to the tourism enterprises. One form of tourism is the dark tourism which brings death into the public. It helps the tourist in reconnecting with the dead (Ministry of Tourism, 2006). Thanatourism or dark tourism is the form of tourism which brings about personification of death. During the Middle Ages, many traveled to tombs and sites on which religious wars were fought and people were executed. This intensified the interest in the dead. Dark tourism basically deals with knowing or studying about sites on which death had made people suffer such as dungeons, prisons, battlefields and in some cases graveyards (Ministry of Tourism, 2006). This type of tourism requires a certain level of sensitivity due to which it is executed in a respectful manner. It also helps the visitors in identifying the problems of the people in the disaster struck area and helps identify rectification as one of the tourists visiting the battlefields say, “And if that's the underlying motivation, then yes, travelers can satisfy their desire to witness certain events in a respectful manner.” The following paper identifies management issues that are faced by tourism companies facilitating dark tourism and how small tourism companies address these several issues through product differentiation and collaborating with the destination governments.

Discussion

Tourism Industry

Tourism industry has been known as the pioneers of applying organizational systems on a mass scale. They have developed computerized systems that are known to be the best in the world. Things like distribution channels have been restructured (Buhalis, 1996). Tourism sector has faced a major upturn in which not only the airlines are benefitted in terms of increased number of passengers, but it has also benefitted tourism companies, travel agencies and other organizations on a mass scale. Various instruments are used for streamlining processes and giving tourism services to the potential customers such as various web sites facilitating tourism is a major change (Buhalis, 1996).

Thomas (2007) and Shaw & Williams (2009) suggests that there are some general management issues facing all STE's (or small tourism enterprises). How might some of these be relevant to SIT operators in your sector?

Various small -sized tourism enterprises now provide a combination of products and services such as catering, accommodation, transportation, visiting attractions and providing access to many activities. These enterprises play a significant role in providing a direct contact to the tourist visiting dark places and help them getting familiar with the local conditions (Buhalis, 1996). A closer look at the tourist enterprises involved with dark tourism face a number of challenges (Ministry of Tourism, 2006). Although the commitment and involvement of entrepreneurs in the strategic and operational management are normally an asset for SMTEs involved in dark tourism, it seems that a number of managerial problems often arise (Breen et al., 2005).

Inconsistency in operation management

This involves a long list of erratic delivery of procedures, ...