haiti as a potential disaster tourism destination

7/31/2019 Haiti as a Potential Disaster Tourism Destination

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Haiti as a Potential Disaster Tourism

Destination

Aleksandr Gorbenko

Certificate in International Hotel and Tourism Management

HTMi Switzerland


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Table of Content

Introduction ................................................................................ 2

Historical Manifestations of Dark Tourism .........................2

Dark Tourism Motivation ....................................................... 3

Positive Sides of Dark Tourism ............................................. 6

Haiti as a Potential Disaster Tourism Destination ......... 7

Conclusion .................................................................................... 8

Recommendations .................................................................... 9

References ................................................................................... 9


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Introduction

Disaster tourism is a sub-category of grief tourism, or as it more commonly

known dark tourism (or thanatotourism). Dark tourism is the act of travelling

and visiting to different places all around the globe, where death or deadly

actions took place (The Dark Tourism Forum 2005.). It includes travel to

former sites of mass destruction, like Ground Zero after events 9/11 in New

York City, and others, like battlefields, concentration camps, where millions of

people died in tortures during the wars (Soanes 2006.). Disaster tourism is

more specific type of grief tourism, which refers to visiting attractions and

exhibitions of natural disasters. Some places are more exposed and vulnerable

to natural disasters, some of them - not. But one thing can be stated certainly:

disasters theoretically can happen anytime and anywhere (Redcross 2010.).

Historical Manifestations of Dark Tourism

Dark tourism is not a new phenomenon, people started to be the participants of

dark tourism, when there was no even such term like dark tourism or tourism

at all. For example the Roman gladiator fights. The first games were held in

Rome in 264 BCE (Fowler 2006.). This death attraction gained popularity

among people of Rome very quickly. The arenas were full of people who

desired to look and see the fight, which led to death of participants. Another

example is medieval public hanging and other different types of executions. In


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middle Ages it was the biggest attraction. First experience of mass tourism

1841, Great Britain, Thomas Cook organized a rail journey for 500 travellers

(Page 2009.). The sites they visited included American Civil War battlefields

and witnessing two murderers being hanged (Sharpley 2009.). Mark Twain also

was a leader of the group of tourists who had visited the destroyed city of

Sebastopol after the Crimean War. Those who followed him were taking small

parts of shrapnel as a souvenir. Victorian England travellers visited morgues.

Tragedy and death have always attracted people, since very ancient times

(Women on the road 2010.).

Dark Tourism Motivation

According to The Dark Tourism (2010), investigating why people travel to

certain places and do certain things is relevant to two reasons: academic

investigation and tourism management. Several researches have been made in

previous years and the connection was found between tourist motivation and

different forms of human behaviour, which are relevant to hospitality

management and theoretical perception of motivation. Illustrations of such

kind of behaviour are the information sources used and the choice of

destination, as well as the mode, or the way of travel.

Motivation of dark tourism is relatively new subject of research and we think it

is important due to the rapid development of dark tourism in the past few

years. According to Dunkley (2006), there is no single reason or motivation,

which could justify the willingness of people to travel to sites where people


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have died as a result of a disaster, whether natural or man-made. To

understand this phenomenon, it is said that thanatotourist should be perceived

as acceptable, but not deviant, because taking such kind of tourism as a morbid

fascination with death could be misleading, as researches cease to be objective,

but most likely subjective. Dunkley, R. A. suggests several motivation factors:

Contemplation Special Interest Thrill/Risk Seeking Validation Authenticity Self-discovery Iconic sites Convenience Morbid curiosity Pilgrimage Remembrance and Empathy

As well as the psychological and sociological factors should be considered and

taken into account, during the analysing and studying dark tourism motivation.

It is supposed to be the combination of reasons and interest, which can provoke

one to visit such kind of places and this, should be the starting point for future

academic research of thanatotourism as a developing phenomenon in tourism

industry.


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According to Women on the road (2010), just a year after New Orleans suffered

from Hurricane Katrina, the city was full embraced by the disaster tourism.

People are curious about disasters and the consequences after them. It is said

that it could be a taste of authenticity. People want to experience everything

first-hand without any mediators. Other theory states that people probably

became less sensitive. They see violence, death, destruction on television and

other mass media sources on a daily basis, so there is nothing unusual if the

real disaster struck somewhere. Possibly, it is a superstition that if the disaster

has struck here, it wont strike again. Also there are people who prefer to be

near danger. Some like to visit unspoilt places not crowded by tourism

(Women on the road 2010.).

Tsunami in Southeast Asia in 2004. Sounds of clicking cameras could be heard

all beaches along. Those tourists were not there to help or donate, they took

picture and ran it was voyeurism. Similar information was reported from the

disaster region in North America people who were there to help and to offer

support had to decline tourists who were trying to pretend to be locals. They

put themselves in danger and distracted fire fighters and rescue workers. If

tourists got an accident, then medicine have to be used on him, while it should

be used on local people, who suffer from disaster consequences. And it is

unknown do they realize that or not (Women on the road 2010.).


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Positive Sides of Dark Tourism

There are some positive sides of dark tourism. Visiting questionable places

could help to understand more clearly the history of some particular place.

Also, this visit would be a financial contribution to economically recessed

region. But, on the other hand, your visit could cause residents to relive the

tragedy, which they would prefer to forget. You can be treated very

disrespectfully, as your actions are morally wrong in their vision (Women on

the road 2010.).

Crampton (2005) states, that the amount of tourists, who are visiting and

intending to visit tourist destinations, related to death is increasing and in some

cases this amount becomes even higher than it used to be before disaster hit.

Pacific Asia Travel Association collected the statistics, which indicates on

significant increase in tourist arrivals in Sri Lanka, after the events of December

2004, where tsunami left dead about 30,000 people. There was considerable

rise of tourists visiting Sri Lanka, particularly from March till August, in

comparison to previous years same period. According to the same

organisation, the post-tsunami Thailand, where a total amount of 10,000 people

went dead and missing, was having a lot of foreign visitors, especially from

Sweden. 500 visitors from Sweden were killed by tsunami on the island of

Phuket, this is nationality, which lost the largest number of its citizens after

those happenings. Then, Swedes started to return to the island in larger

numbers than the year before (Crampton 2005.).


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Those facts and rapid changes of figures mean that people are really becoming

more attracted by disasters and it is clearly visible that the examples which are

described above are manifestations of disaster tourism. Consequently, it can be

assumed, that disaster tourism and any other kind of grief tourism can boost

tourism industry of particular country, place, region, if there happened events,

which led to mass death (Hospitality Times 2010.).

Haiti as a Potential Disaster Tourism Destination

Now there is a new disaster, which took place in Haiti. 230,000 casualties

counted by February 2010 (MSNBC 2010.). But this number is growing and

probably will reach 300,000 casualties (Rosenberg 2010.). A week later in late

January 2010 after the earthquake on Haiti cruise lines were full, continuously

bringing new tourists to Haiti, despite the tragic situation, which is faced by the

whole country. But for cruise industry it is business, another profitable source

of income.

Sixty miles away from the epicentre of earthquake luxury liners are leaving

thousands of new tourists which to Haiti for different purposes, some for

leisure on private beaches, but some for travelling to disaster site (MacDonald

2010.).

Several motivation determinants, such as morbid curiosity, pilgrimage,

contemplation, special interest, thrill/risk seeking, validation, authenticity,

which Dunkley (2006) suggests, could be applied to Haiti case. So there could


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be people who came to Haiti to be in danger, because they like those feelings,

but some came to validate images presented by mass media. Religious

fundamentalists, like Laura Silsby, came there to take advantage of the others,

by preaching the necessity to understand what happened to Haitian people and

why "God or "Fate" abandoned those (Global Clashes 2010.). The case of Haiti

will be studied as it has happened with previous disaster destinations, so

special interest motivation could be the reason. We cannot exclude such

pathology as morbid curiosity it is a part of dark tourism motivation studies,

but there are such cases. Local people of Haiti yelled and thrown rocks in

tourists, who came there to make some photos or simply to assess the overall

situation (Information in Context 2010.).

According to Woman on The Road (2010) tour buses still are delivering tourists

to the Lower Ninth Ward (most suffered zone in New Orleans during the

storm), as to any other attraction. It may take some time, but it can be expected

that the same destiny awaits Haiti.

Conclusion

Finally, the conclusion could be made that dark tourism motivation is variable

and more academic studies have to be made to provide bigger picture of this

subject. The motivation is not single, the combination of reasons and other

factors can stimulate people to visit dark tourism destinations. Professor John

Lennon said once: It's about the dark side of human nature. It's in all of us, and

it fascinates us.


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Assumingly, Haiti Island will be flooded with tourists in time, as it has been

happening to New Orleans after the Hurricane Katrina.

Recommendations

The motivation of dark tourism is still being researched, but as Dunkley (2006)

suggests, dark tourism is not a morbid fascination with death, and should not

be treated in that way, but shouldnt be excluded as well. The case of Haiti

should be studied, in order to foresee possible consequences and overall

development of situation. The policy of Haiti could be changed to extract profit

from the dark tourism. This would lead to faster economical recovery.

References

Crampton, T. 2005.After disaster, tourism's quick rally. [online] Available at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/13/travel/13iht-travelers.html?_r=1

[Accessed on February 28 2010].

Dunkley, R. A. 2006. Thanatourism: A morbid Fascination with Death and

Depravity?[presentation] [online] University of Wales Institute, Cardiff October

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reg.co.uk/pstone1-

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Fowler, R. 2006. The Roman Gladiator. [online] Available at:

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on March 14 2010].

Global Clashes. 2010. The Crazies are in Haiti. [online] Available at:

http://www.globalclashes.com/2010/02/the-crazies-are-in-haiti.html

[Accessed on April 11 2010].

Hospitality Times. 2010. Dark Tourism. [online] Available at:

http://www.ehospitalitytimes.com/Info_514.aspx [Accessed on March 2 2010].

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MSNBC. 2010. Haiti raises earthquake death toll to 230,000. [online] Available

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35319454/ns/world_news-haiti_earthquake/

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The Dark Tourism. 2010. Motivation of Tourists to Dark Spots. [online] Available

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haiti as a potential disaster tourism destination

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