DARK TOURISM IN INDIA: SIGNIFICANCE AND CHALLENGES

• Main Authors: Baloch, Adnan Gul, Leite, Eduardo Manuel de Almeida, Ribeiro, Humberto Nuno Rito, Alves, Sandra Raquel Pinto, Camacho, Elvio
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cemeteries; Community; Cultural tourism; Holocaust; Local communities; Museums; Perceptions; Rural areas; Segments; September 11 terrorist attacks-2001; Socioeconomics; Tourism; Tourists
• ISSN: 1849-6903; 1849-6903

Dark tourism, a strand of tourism related to suffering, bloodshed, war zones, cemetery sites, international tragedy, death and moribund places related to history, cultural and heritage tourism. This type of leisure, that one can somewhat relate to morbid curiosity, presents, nevertheless, a huge growth potential, even if it is understood that educating people is needed, in order to avoid the building of a wrong set of perceptions towards these particular sites. Visitors know India for its best touristic sites, like Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar, Rajasthan desert and many other beautiful sites, which many tourists across the globe aim to visit. However, there is little information regarding dark and grief touristic sites, where people who are fascinated by this segment, can visit and enhance their dark experience, consequently allowing adding value to India socio-economic status. The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate the perception of local communities towards dark tourism. Furthermore, as there is a great need of further research with this regard, this research looks to find out ways how India can benefit from dark tourism for its own. For this purpose, authorities and populations should be aware of the importance of promoting this segment, in order to improve the lives of their communities, especially in rural areas of the country.