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

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.

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.

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.

Over the years, dark tourism as a theory has become very heterogenous. It has come to mean a lot of different things, according to the vantage points chosen for analysis. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the research that has been conducted on the topic of dark tourism including what the accepted definitions are, where it originated from, subcategories of the topic, and tourist motivations for visiting such sites. A discussion regarding the role of cultural differences in perceiving the phenomenon of dark tourism is also included. Dark tourist experience is qualitatively different from that of the leisure tourists, and the theories and frameworks available in the extant tourism literature to understand leisure tourism are insufficient to capture its essence. This means, more foundational conceptualisations and radical theory building are called for – rather than incrementally tweaking the existing ones.

The present chapter reviews part of the literature that focuses on dark tourism and dark consumption. The main theories were placed under the critical lens of scrutiny. With strongholds and weaknesses, dark tourism seems to be enframed in an ‘economic-based paradigm’, which prioritises the managerial perspective over other methods. Like Dark Tourist, the Netflix documentary assessed in this chapter, this academic perspective accepts that the tourist's experience is the only valid source of information to understand the phenomenon. Rather, we hold the thesis that far from being a local trend, dark tourism evinces a morbid drive which not only emerges recently but involves other facets and spheres of society. We coin the term Thana-capitalism to denote a passage from risk society to a new stage, where the Other's death is situated as the main commodity to exchange. The risk society as it was imagined by Beck, set finally the pace to thana-capitalism. Dark Tourist proffers an interesting platform to gain further understanding of this slippery matter. In sharp contrast to Seaton, Sharpley or Stone, we argue that dark tourists are unable to create empathy with the victims. Instead, they visit these types of marginal destinations in order to re-elaborate a political attachment with their institutions. They consume the Other's pain not only to feel unique and special (a word that sounds all the time in the documentary) but also to affirm their privileged role as part of the selected peoples.

The study uses a postcolonial lens to examine the historical interest of Western tourists towards dark tourism in the east, critically assess the current status of dark tourism in India, and recommend sustainable strategies that must be considered for promoting a dark tourism market in the future. The observations and recommendations for the study are based on primary fieldwork experience at different dark tourism sites in India besides an analysis of secondary data. A critical analysis in the context of dark tourism in India demonstrates several complex issues in terms of the existence and applicability of Euro-centric frameworks and concepts. Firstly, it is revealed that the Western fascination with death-related rituals in the east is rooted in notions of colonial discourse, authenticity and counter-culture movements. Secondly, although dark tourism has not been formally acknowledged or promoted in India, it already exists in the form of fragmented and informal markets across the country. Thirdly, the application of dark tourism frameworks and concepts in India requires careful consideration of contextuality and non-Western interpretations of death, disaster, heritage and processes of memorialisation to ensure that the marketing rhetoric does not reinforce colonial or neocolonial structures of power. Lastly, promoting responsible dark tourism in India entails minimising dissonance and decolonising the dark tourism narrative considering the larger goals of social sustainability and ethics.

This study aims to investigate the perceived benefits arising from tourist activities at natural disaster sites, to analyze the influence of perceived benefits on satisfaction and behavioral intentions and to identify origin region’s moderating role.

A research model containing dark tourism motivations (DTMs), tourist perceived benefits (TPBs), tourist satisfaction (TS), protection intention (PI) and loyalty intention (LIs) was developed, and visitor origin was introduced as a moderating variable. Taking the 5·12 Wenchuan Earthquake Memorial Museum as a case site, data were obtained by distributing questionnaires on-site, and the model was tested using partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

DTMs had a significant effect on cognitive and affective benefits, and TPBs significantly affected TS, PI and LIs, with satisfaction playing a partial mediating role. The origins of tourists showed a moderating role in part of the influence relationship of perceived benefits.

This study explored the perceived benefits among dark tourists and built a research model of their influence on tourist satisfaction and behavior. This study not only provides suggestions for managers related to dark tourism development in natural disaster areas, but also offers the possibility of enhancing tourist dark tourism experiences by interpreting the psychology and behavior of dark tourists.

This research adopted a new perspective of the decision-making behavior of dark tourists. The perceived benefits arising from visiting natural disaster sites were analyzed and the relationships between TBSs and motivation, TS, PI and LIs were examined. Considering the specificity of dark tourism emotions, the research also analyzed the similarities and differences in the psychology and behavior of locals and non-locals in dark tourism. The research results enrich and deepen the theoretical study of dark tourism.

本文旨在探讨游客在自然灾难遗址地进行旅游活动时产生的感知收获, 分析感知收获对游客满意度和行为意向的影响, 并识别来源地在其中的调节效应。

构建了一个包含旅游动机、感知收获、满意度、保护意愿和忠诚意向等多个变量在内的研究模型, 并引入游客来源地作为调节变量。而后, 选取5·12汶川特大地震纪念馆作为案例地, 通过现场发放问卷的形式获取数据, 并采用PLS-SEM对模型进行了检验。

旅游动机对认知收获和情感收获均具有显著影响; 感知收获显著影响满意度、保护意愿和忠诚意向, 同时满意度在上述影响关系中呈现部分中介作用; 游客来源地在感知收获的部分影响关系中（旅游动机→感知收获、感知收获→保护意愿）呈现出一定的调节作用。

文章采用了一种新的视角来研究自然灾难遗址地游客的行为决策机制。通过实证数据分析了游客的感知收获, 并进一步考察了其与旅游动机、满意度、保护意愿和忠诚意向之间的影响关系。考虑到灾难遗址地旅游的独特情感特征, 文章还分析了不同来源地（本地—非本地）的游客在旅游过程中呈现出的心理与行为差异。本研究能在一定程度上丰富和深化黑色旅游的理论研究。

Este estudio persigue investigar los beneficios percibidos derivados de la actividad turística en lugares afectados por catástrofes naturales, para así analizar la influencia que dichos beneficios ejercen sobre la satisfacción y el comportamiento planificado, e identificar el papel moderador de la región de origen.

Se elaboró un modelo de investigación que contiene las variables de motivación por el turismo oscuro, beneficio percibido, satisfacción, protección e intenciones de lealtad, así como la variable moderadora origen. Tomando como área de investigación el Museo Conmemorativo del Terremoto de Wenchuan 5.12, los datos fueron obtenidos distribuyendo cuestionarios in situ. La técnica de análisis de datos aplicada fue el Modelado de Ecuaciones Estructurales de Mínimos Cuadrados Parciales (PLS-SEM)

La motivación por el turismo oscuro tuvo un efecto significativo en los beneficios cognitivos y afectivos, y los beneficios percibidos afectaron significativamente a la satisfacción, protección e intenciones de lealtad, siendo la satisfacción lo que desempeña un papel mediador parcial. El origen de los turistas mostró un papel moderador en cuanto a la relación de influencia de los beneficios percibidos.

Esta investigación adoptó una nueva perspectiva en el comportamiento de toma de decisiones en los turistas de turismo oscuro, analizó los beneficios percibidos del turismo de oscuro en los lugares donde se produjeron las catástrofes naturales, y examinó la relación entre los beneficios percibidos y la motivación, la satisfacción, la protección y la intención de lealtad. Teniendo en cuenta la especificidad de las emociones del turismo oscuro, la investigación también analizó las similitudes y diferencias entre la psicología y el comportamiento de los turistas locales y no locales en lo respectivo al turismo oscuro. Los resultados de la investigación enriquecen y ofrecen un acercamiento más profundo a los estudios teóricos del turismo oscuro.

This study aims to reveal the empirical linkage between tourists’ perspectives and attitudes towards disaster ruins and dark tourism by attesting influence relationships between disaster memorials perception, dark tourism evaluation, as well as heritage protection and tourism development intention.

Partial least squares structural equation modeling analysis was used on a sample of 413 valid visitor questionnaires collected at the 5·12 Wenchuan Earthquake Memorial Museum, Sichuan Province, China.

Disaster memorials perception positively influences positive evaluation of dark tourism, heritage protection intention and tourism development intention, while negatively influencing negative evaluation of dark tourism. Furthermore, positive evaluation of dark tourism and heritage protection intention positively affect tourism development intention. In addition, prior knowledge is a significant moderator in the research model.

This study applied the stimulus-organism-response framework and social exchange theory to predict tourists’ behavioral intention toward disaster memorials, providing valuable insights to dark tourism research. It illuminates tourists’ psychological and behavioral characteristics at natural disaster sites and deepens research on the human–nature relationship from the disaster perspective.

本研究试图通过验证自然灾难遗址地游客感知、旅游评价、遗产保护意愿与旅游开发意愿之间的影响关系, 以揭示游客对灾难遗址和黑色旅游的感知及态度之间的隐秘逻辑。

采用偏最小二乘法结构方程模型, 对在中国四川省5·12汶川特大地震纪念馆收集的413份有效游客问卷进行分析。

灾难遗址感知正向影响黑色旅游积极评价、遗产保护意愿和旅游开发意愿, 而负向影响黑色旅游消极评价。同时, 黑色旅游积极评价和遗产保护意愿均显著正向影响旅游开发意愿。此外, 游客的先验知识在研究模型中起着重要的调节作用。

本研究运用“刺激-机体-反应”研究框架预测了旅游者对自然灾难遗址地的行为意向, 深化了黑色旅游研究, 拓宽了S-O-R理论的适用范围。

Este estudio revela el vínculo empírico entre las perspectivas y las actitudes de los turistas hacia las ruinas de catástrofes y el Turismo oscuro, mostrando las relaciones de influencia entre la percepción de los monumentos conmemorativos de catástrofes, la evaluación del turismo oscuro, así como la protección del patrimonio y la intención de desarrollo turístico.

Se empleó un análisis de modelización de ecuaciones estructurales por mínimos cuadrados parciales en una muestra de 413 cuestionarios válidos de visitantes recogidos en el 5·12 Museo Conmemorativo del Terremoto de Wenchuan, Sichuan, China.

La percepción de los monumentos conmemorativos de las catástrofes influye positivamente en las evaluaciones positivas del turismo oscuro, la intención de protección del patrimonio y la intención de desarrollo turístico, mientras que influye negativamente en las evaluaciones negativas del turismo oscuro. Además, las evaluaciones positivas del turismo oscuro y la intención de protección del patrimonio influyen positivamente en la intención de desarrollo turístico. Además, el conocimiento previo moderadora significativamente el modelo de investigación.

Este estudio aplica el marco teórico estímulo-organismo-respuesta (E-O-R) y la teoría del intercambio social para predecir las intenciones de comportamiento de los turistas hacia los monumentos conmemorativos de catástrofes, proporcionando valiosas ideas para el estudio del turismo oscuro. Clarifica las características psicológicas y conductuales de los turistas en los lugares de catástrofes naturales y profundiza en el estudio de la relación entre el ser humano y la naturaleza desde la perspectiva de las catástrofes.

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the lighter (entertainment and esthetic experiences) and darker sides (educational and escapist experiences) of dark tourism experiences. This study also examines the effect of lighter and darker sides of dark tourism experiences on functional and emotional value.

To investigate how and where visitors experience lighter and darker sides of dark tourism, the authors conducted in-depth interviews from visitors to the Korean demilitarized zone (DMZ). To demonstrate consequences of lighter and darker sides of dark tourism experiences on functional and emotional value, the authors collected field survey data. Taken together, the authors used mixed methods with exploratory sequential design.

Interviewees vividly described their entertainment (crossing the suspension bridge) and esthetic experiences (seeing a family of crane birds from a short distance) in the Korean DMZ. They also described educational (understanding the background of the civil war) and escapist experiences (limiting daily entries made them feel like they were entering a special place or even a foreign country). Survey results showed that educational and esthetic experiences increased emotional value, while educational and escapist experiences enhanced functional value of a tour of the Korean DMZ.

Previous research operationalized lighter and darker sides of dark tourism based on characteristics of dark tourism sites. Specifically, darker and lighter aspects of dark tourism were determined, depending on whether such sites are directly related to human death or not. However, the current study draws on tourist experiences to operationalize lighter and darker sides of dark tourism. While previous research focused on the supply side, this study shifts focus to the demand side, thereby advancing knowledge in hybrid dark tourism experiences.

本研究旨在通过娱乐和审美体验（相对于教育和逃避现实的体验）展示黑暗旅游的光明（相对于黑暗）的一面。除此, 本研究以到访频率和到访目的作调节变量, 分别探讨上述四个类别的黑色旅游体验、功能性或情感性价值和访客满意度的关系。

为了深入探究上述四个类别的黑色旅游体验的性质, 我们与韩国非军事区的访客进行了深入的访谈。我们收集了田野问卷数据来测试上述四个类别的黑色旅游体验、价值观和满意度。运用测量不变性测试和多组分析试验了到访频率和到访目的之调节变量。

受访者在韩国非军事区生动地描述他们的娱乐（走过吊桥）和审美经历（近距离观赏一群鹤鸟）。他们还描述了教育（解释了韩战的背景）和逃避现实的经历（每日入场人数限制让访客觉得他们正在进入一个特别的地方甚至是国外）。问卷结果显示了教育和审美经历引致了情感价值, 教育和逃避现实经历则引致功能价值。

先前的研究根据黑色旅游地点的特点, 对黑色旅游的光明面和黑暗面进行了展示。具体来说, 根据这些地点是否与人类死亡直接相关, 确定了黑暗旅游的光明及黑暗的方面。然而, 本研究利用旅游体验来定义黑色旅游的光明面和黑暗面。虽然之前的研究侧重于旅游供应方面, 但本研究将重点转移到需求方面, 从而推进了混合黑色旅游体验的知识发展。

El propósito de este estudio es demostrar el encendedor (entretenimiento y estética) experiencias) y los lados más oscuros (experiencias educativas y escapistas) de las experiencias de turismo oscuro. Este El estudio también examina el efecto de los lados más claros y más oscuros de las experiencias de turismo oscuro en funcional y valor emocional.

Para investigar cómo y dónde los visitantes experimentan más claro y más oscuro lados del turismo oscuro, los autores realizaron entrevistas en profundidad a visitantes del desmilitarizado coreano zona desmilitarizada (DMZ). Demostrar las consecuencias de los lados más claros y más oscuros de las experiencias de turismo oscuro en valor funcional y emocional, los autores recopilaron datos de encuestas de campo. En conjunto, los autores utilizaron métodos mixtos con diseño secuencial exploratorio.

Los entrevistados describieron vívidamente su entretenimiento (cruzar el puente colgante) y Experiencias estéticas (ver una familia de pájaros grulla desde una corta distancia) en la DMZ coreana. Ellos también describió experiencias educativas (comprendiendo los antecedentes de la guerra civil) y escapistas (limitar las entradas diarias les hizo sentir como si estuvieran entrando en un lugar especial o incluso en un país extranjero). Los resultados de la encuesta mostraron que las experiencias educativas y estéticas aumentaron el valor emocional, mientras que Las experiencias educativas y escapistas mejoraron el valor funcional de un recorrido por la DMZ coreana.

Investigaciones anteriores operacionalizaron los lados más claros y más oscuros del turismo oscuro con base en Características de los sitios de turismo oscuro. Específicamente, los aspectos más oscuros y más claros del turismo oscuro fueron determinado, dependiendo de si tales sitios están directamente relacionados con la muerte humana o no. sin embargo, el El estudio actual se basa en las experiencias turísticas para operacionalizar los lados más claros y más oscuros del turismo oscuro. Si bien la investigación anterior se centró en el lado de la oferta, este estudio cambia el enfoque hacia el lado de la demanda, por lo que avanzar en el conocimiento de experiencias híbridas de turismo oscuro.

The purpose of this paper is to advance the conceptualisation of dark tourism by evaluating both the supply‐side drivers for dark tourism development and the demand‐side motivations for visiting two dark heritage sites in Cyprus.

An exploratory research approach was adopted whereby 12 semi‐structured interviews were conducted with supply‐side stakeholders and two focus groups were conducted with local and foreign visitors.

Production and consumption of dark tourism is continuous and interrelated as demand appears to be supply‐driven and attraction‐based. Tourist interpretations of dark tourism are influenced by tourists' personal factors, the passage of “time” and the way the dark site is projected by the supply‐side. A refined marketing segmentation strategy is proposed taking into consideration the purpose of visit, the relevance of the dark heritage site to the tourist and the depth of the dark element.

The study's focus is narrow but the findings provide theoretical and practical insights into the conceptualisation dark tourism by considering supply and demand aspects and the related influencing factors. In doing so understanding of the phenomenon is enhanced.

Dark tourism is a topic of increasing interest, but it is poorly understood when considering its significance for mainstream and commercial tourism. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significance of dark tourism in the top ten most visited European tourist cities and propose a dark tourism index for Europe’s tourism cities.

Data were collected from the websites of the cities’ Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) using a content analysis methodology, based on keywords related to dark tourism taken from the research literature in this area. Descriptive statistics were produced and the variance between the frequencies of keywords related to each city was analysed for statistical significance. These results were then used to construct a darkness ranking of the cities.

There are significant differences in the extent to which dark tourism products and services are promoted by the DMOs of Europe’s top ten most visited European cities. The ranking of cities by darkness does not correspond to the ranking by visitor numbers, and further qualitative analysis suggests that, that the ranking is also independent of the actual presence of dark sites within the destination. This implies that European city DMOs are engaging with the emerging dark tourism market with to varying degrees.

The purposive sample of ten cities can be extended in future research to increase the validity of the findings of this paper. A further limitation is the selection of keywords for content analysis, which have been developed following the literature review contained below. Future research could develop an extended list of keywords using a systematic review process.

This paper shows that it is possible to create a ranking of tourist cities in terms of their darkness, and that this methodology could be extended to a much larger sample size. This links dark tourism research to the urban tourism literature and also offers possibilities for creating a global ranking that could be used by destinations to judge their success in engaging with the dark tourism market, as well as by tour operators seeking to develop products for the same market.

This paper will offer DMO’s and others the opportunity to hone their tourism products more effectively in a way which offers a better understanding of tourism, and therefore provides for better management of its issues.

Dark tourism is a growing niche area of study, and this paper seeks to provide a framework to better understand supply-side aspects of it.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the papers in this Special Issue of IJCTHR on dark tourism. These papers take either a demand‐side, supply‐side, or integrated demand‐and‐supply side perspective to understanding dark tourism. Collectively, the papers explore tourist experiences at dark sites, the management of dark sites, ethical issues in profit making, and the involvement of indigenous peoples in site management.

This editorial draws lessons from the papers presented in the Special Issue.

Just as we contemplate our mortality in different ways in our daily lives, so we contemplate death in different ways in tourism praxis. The papers presented here stretch the boundaries of the current definition of dark tourism. We move beyond a discussion of classifications of dark tourism to recognise dark tourism as both an individual experience and a complex socio‐cultural phenomenon.

The move from a purely descriptive to an experiential and critical investigation of dark tourism bodes well for the development of a dark tourism body of knowledge. This paper suggests several avenues for future research on dark tourism.