Dark tourism is not necessarily a new travel trend, some of us have already been familiar with the concept, while for many the term may sound new. The most attractive feature of this tourism is its negative, sometimes brutal historic past. To be more exact – taking a tour of the death camp of Auschwitz, visiting a graveyard of a famous celebrity like the Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, queuing to enter the 9/11 memorial in New york, calling on the ‘Killing Fields’ in Cambodia, visiting the Hiroshima Peace Museum in Japan or stepping in the Sedlec Ossuary (aka “The Bone Church”) in the Czech Republic, has a name called ‘Dark Tourism’. 
Actually, people have been engaging in this, long, being unaware that their acts have a ‘dark’ approach and therefore it holds a negative
connotation in tourism literature.
Many a times the question that comes to our mind is – what draws us to such destinations ? Perhaps it is because most of us find the dark aspects of history and humanity simply interesting. Sometimes we do this to heighten our understanding or we love to indulge ourselves in some morbid curiosity. Whatever it may be, the act is undoubtedly educational. Visiting the sites of atrocities gives us more of an understanding than reading about it in a textbook ever could.
In addition, dark tourism also helps to generate income for the community, which is affected by the tragedy to rebuild itself. Touring the locations of disaster means helping to bring in tourists dollars actually, which in turn can help the locals. Many countries are benefitted from such tourism after trauma including Rwanda, Mozambique, and Cambodia. If you visit Croatia, it’s hard to believe a civil war was being raged therea couple of decades ago, so successful is its tourism industry !
However, with its fascinating aspects dark tourism is growing remarkably nowadays, capturing the interests of all age groups. Though data about the number of people embarking on dark tourism are not readily available, there are indications that it is becoming highly popular. Because the statistics shows, visits to Auschwitz in Poland have increased dramatically over the years as it has passed the 1.7 million per annum mark now, while the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero in New York registered 4.5 million visitors in its first year of operation alone.
Dark tourism has a positive impact not only from the economical view point but also in the emotional wellness of the residents and tourists. Offering new experiences to a tourist, generating income to help the community and providing emotional benefits to both tourist and residents, it has created a significant place for itself in the world of tourism. Therefore, dark tourism should be promoted and converted into a responsible tourism.
