Surfing in the Dark: Comparable Study Cases Between Ground Zero, US and Republica de Cromañón, Argentina

Abstract

Purpose

The present book chapter deals with the problem of dark tourism as well as the resilience forms of consumption in post-disaster context.

Design/Methodology/Approach

The turn of the century characterised a radical change in the forms of tourism consumption. New forms of tourism as dark or thana tourism have captivated the attention of scholars and journalists. This book chapter centres efforts in dillucidating what are the key factors that determine the formation of a dark site. The text is inspired in my own ethnographies in Cromañon, Argentina and the Ground Zero, US.

Findings

As Phillip Stone puts it, not all dark shrines or sites welcome tourists. While some sites are reluctant to mass tourism, others are mainly organised around the figure of the tourist. La Republica de Cromañón is a night club where in a fire died 194 young. The site is today refurbished as a sanctuary to remind the victims. At a closer look, there is a tension between stakeholders at the time of promoting dark tourism in Cromañón. In the opposite the ground zero is fully designed to be visited by thousands tourists.

Originality/Value

The originality of this research consists in the contraposition of two study cases which answer the question to what extent dark tourism is desired by locals. The findings lay the foundations towards the specialised literature in dark tourism studies. We discuss critically the nature of thanatopsis.

Citation

Korstanje, M.E. (2022), "Surfing in the Dark: Comparable Study Cases Between Ground Zero, US and Republica de Cromañón, Argentina", Korstanje, M.E., Seraphin, H. and Maingi, S.W. (Ed.) Tourism Through Troubled Times (Tourism Security-Safety and Post Conflict Destinations), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 75-91. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-80382-311-920221005