Exploring the World of Dark Tourism: Travel Beyond the Ordinary

At the beginning of the year, we traditionally start to think about where we will plan our next vacations. Indeed, the first Saturday of the year is known as “Sunshine Saturday” in UK.

However, while most of us think about pure white beaches, exotic tropical locations or short city breaks, a growing minority turn their ideas to a relatively new phenomenon known as “Dark Tourism”

This is defined as travel to locations off the beaten track that usually have more morbid associations.

A few examples are:

• Choeung Ek Killing Fields, Cambodia
• Chernobyl, Ukraine
• Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam
• Perm-36 Gulag Memorial & Museum, Russia
• Kim Mausoleum, North Korea
• Rwanda – Murambi, Nyamata and Kigali Genocide Memorials

Alongside more well-known locations such as:

• 9/11 memorial Site, New York
• Pompeii, Italy
• Robben Island, South Africa
• Hiroshima & Nagasaki, Japan

Of course, the more obscure the better, similar to the Instagram generation’s search for the most Instagrammable locations.

There is a fine line between the dark tourism locations which are visited for their historical interest compared with the voyeuristic desire to visit live war zones or danger tourism, which cannot be condoned as these may put people in harm’s way.

The value of Dark Tourism is still small at around US$32 billion in 2023, compared to the overall global tourism value of approximately US$10 trillion in the same period, so anyone wanting to undertake such trips will generally have to adopt a DIY approach to planning their journey.

Dark Tourism travellers will most likely need to arrange their own hotels, flights and transport themselves independently.

The availability of information about many of these destinations can be both difficult to find and complex to understand once found. This is especially true where tourists are rarely seen.

It would be most frustrating to turn up at the border of your destination country only to be turned away because your documentation is not in order, especially so if your travel takes you away from the locations not frequented by the tourist masses

Even the websites of many travel agents, OTA’s, maritime companies and even airlines do not always provide the most helpful information.

If you’re overwhelmed by endless websites and AI-generated information, unsure of which one to trust, many people turn to TravelDoc for accurate and reliable border crossing information. TravelDoc uses only official entry rules and creates easy-to-understand travel document guidance based on each traveller’s actual journey.

Every year, TravelDoc helps over 1 billion travellers by providing not only travel document requirements but also guidance on travel with infants, minors, health requirements, and customs regulations. It’s your one-stop solution for all travel regulation information.

Travel Providers wishing to know more about TravelDoc by ICTS, can apply for further information via Contact - ICTS and apply for a demo.

Independent travellers looking to check rules for themselves can access the information at TravelDoc Passenger View - TravelDoc.Website.

If this article inspires you to explore further off the beaten track, we at ICTS Europe Systems with you a safe and pleasant voyage.