{"id":99320,"date":"2025-10-27T11:33:31","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T15:33:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/?post_type=cu_story&p=99320"},"modified":"2025-10-27T12:13:36","modified_gmt":"2025-10-27T16:13:36","slug":"dark-tourism-appeal-travel-tragedy","status":"publish","type":"cu_story","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/story\/dark-tourism-appeal-travel-tragedy\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark Tourism: The Appeal of Travel to Tragedy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n Dark Tourism: The Appeal of Travel to Tragedy\n <\/h1>\n \n <\/header>\n <\/div>\n\n \n <\/path>\n <\/path>\n <\/svg>\n <\/div>\n\n \n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

Ghost walks, haunted hotels and memorial sites; these are some examples of places that Hilary Becker<\/a> says are part of a sector of tourism called \u201cdark tourism\u201d \u2014 the act of travelling to sites associated with death, suffering and the macabre.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though the term conjures images of spooky places, it encompasses a spectrum of sites. From the very dark, such as concentration camps and genocide memorials \u2014 to the light-dark, like celebrity gravesites and vampire tours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While many people partake in dark tourism intentionally, Becker says nearly everyone has unknowingly participated in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Carleton University accounting researcher Hilary Becker<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve ever visited the National War Memorial, a cemetery or driven along the Veterans Memorial Highway, you\u2019ve engaged with a dark tourism site,\u201d explains Becker, an accounting<\/a> researcher in Carleton University’s Sprott School of Business<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why are people drawn to these places? Motivations vary. Some seek education or emotional connection. Others go out of morbid curiosity, contemplating their own mortality. More commonly, it\u2019s simply for entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cPeople like to witness spectacles from a place of safety,\u201d says Becker. \u201cIt\u2019s the same instinct that draws audiences to boxing matches, true crime podcasts or horror films. There\u2019s a thrill to it but you\u2019re not personally at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Becker\u2019s interest in the topic emerged during the pandemic while attending online tourism conferences, where one speaker presented on dark tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Having researched the Cuban and Caribbean economy and tourism sector for over 20 years, Becker saw clear links to Cuba\u2019s cemetery legends, Santer\u00eda, slavery, and revolutionary and mafia history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A tomb in the Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Balancing Economics, Education and Ethics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During his research, Becker realized dark tourism\u2019s potential to benefit local communities through sustainable and thoughtful management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe best sites focus on authenticity and education,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cIt allows communities to tell their own stories, like the people of Salem sharing their witch trial history or New Orleans showcasing its unique spiritual and cultural roots.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

In New Orleans, which Becker describes as an \u201cepicentre of light-dark tourism,\u201d over 60 tour companies offer more than 100 themed experiences, from cemeteries and Voodoo shops to vampire speakeasies and true crime walks. And they play a vital role in New Orleans\u2019 tourism sector. In 2019, the city hosted 19.75 million visitors, generating over $10 billion in revenue and supporting 98,000 tourism jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, increased popularity comes with problems: overtourism, gentrification and disrespectful behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMarie Laveau\u2019s [a Louisiana Creole Voodoo Queen] tomb had to be closed to the public because visitors were defacing it,\u201d says Becker. \u201cIn places like Chernobyl or Pompeii, tourists take selfies among ruins of immense human suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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La Milagrosa, Colon Cemetery, Havana, Cuba<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s also the issue of who\u2019s reaping the economic benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNational or multinational tour companies often reap the rewards,\u201d says Becker. \u201cThat money doesn\u2019t always stay in the community, so supporting local guides and operators is important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cities like New Orleans have stepped in with regulations. Tours must end by 10 p.m., are capped at 28 people and guides require bi-annual licensing. These policies help preserve the integrity of residential areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethical questions remain, especially with emerging forms of dark tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cTrue crime tours are booming but one operator I spoke to refuses to feature crimes from the past 50 years, out of respect for families still grieving,\u201d explains Becker.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

There\u2019s also growing concern about AI-generated content exploiting tragedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt Auschwitz, someone used victims\u2019 names to create fake AI-generated images and monetized the posts,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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St. Valentine’s Day Massacre Wall, Mob Museum, Las Vegas, Nevada<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Role of the Tour Guide<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As he studies the business and policy side of dark tourism, Becker stresses its sensory and emotional power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe best tours are immersive,\u201d he says. \u201cThey engage sight, sound, smell, touch, even taste. Night tours heighten the tourist\u2019s experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cAnd the role of the guide is crucial. Over 90% of five-star reviews on TripAdvisor mention the guide as the highlight.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Becker is writing a book chapter on the performance management of dark tourism sites and continues to interview operators and visitors around the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He hopes his research will ensure these tours not only entertain but educate and preserve history in respectful, sustainable ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With Halloween around the corner, he encourages tourists to be mindful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhether you’re visiting a haunted house, a cemetery or a former prison, approach with respect,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s not about whether you see a ghost, it\u2019s about understanding the story of that place and its people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dark tourism \u2014 what Becker sometimes calls \u201cheritage tourism\u201d \u2014 is more than just scares or spectacle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvery city has something: a site, a story, a tragedy. Dark tourism gives communities a way to own their past and share it with others,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Nelson Mandela’s prison cell, Robben Island, Cape Town, South Africa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Ghost walks, haunted hotels and memorial sites; these are some examples of places that Hilary Becker says are part of a sector of tourism called \u201cdark tourism\u201d \u2014 the act of travelling to sites associated with death, suffering and the macabre. Though the term conjures images of spooky places, it encompasses a spectrum of sites. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":99322,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"cu_story_type":[13],"cu_story_tag":[1925,1922],"class_list":["post-99320","cu_story","type-cu_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","cu_story_type-research-discovery","cu_story_tag-research","cu_story_tag-sprott-school-of-business"],"acf":{"cu_post_thumbnail":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/99320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/cu_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/52"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/99320\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99340,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story\/99320\/revisions\/99340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99322"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"cu_story_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_type?post=99320"},{"taxonomy":"cu_story_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cu_story_tag?post=99320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}