A master thesis from Aalborg University
Dark Tourism: Historieopfattelse, motivation & konsumering: en kvalitativ undersøgelse af historieopfattelse og dens brug ved døds-relaterede turismeattraktioner
[Dark Tourism: History perception, motivation & consumption: A qualitative study of history perception and its use when visiting dark tourism products]
Forfatter(e)
Semester
4. semester
Uddannelse
Udgivelsesår
2009
Afleveret
2009-03-02
Antal sider
112 pages
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to gain an understanding of how historical views and consciousness influence the motivation for visiting dark tourism sites and the way the sites are absorbed. By providing such insight this paper contributes to a greater understanding of dark tourism. The method chosen to achieve the above is a qualitative approach where ten semistructured interviews have been conducted. Statistical numbers show the most likely groups to visit sites related to dark tourism are well educated and between the age of 20-29 or 50-59, hence the ten Danish participants all belong to these groups. The groups are however not likely to have the same approach on history or the same historical consciousness, since they have been exposed to different teaching approaches during their educational background. The interviews were conducted during November and December, 2008. The conclusion of this paper is, that although some people are motivated to visit sites related to dark tourism with the site as the only motivation, the majority choose to visit these sites due to proximity, their knowledge of historical events, and genealogy, thus emotional reasons. When the respondents view on history is linked to their motivation to visit dark tourism sites it is found that justification for visiting these sites is the historical value, the possibility to learn from history and to understand it, and the way a historical site can be seen as evidence of a historical event. History itself is however also seen as entertaining. This divides dark tourism sites into two categories: Dark Heritage Tourism and Dark Tourism. When visiting sites related to dark heritage tourism, people are motivated by a personal belonging to an imaginary community and absorb the site in this context. When visiting sites related to Dark Tourism the main objective is entertainment and the sites are defined by the age of the historical event and the historical significance.
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