Dark tourism as an innovating element of travel agencies

Abstract

Travelling, both in a history of the world and or even more in the present times, is far from commonly accepted ways to do leisure activities. Tourism has evolved from the traditional “3 x S” (Sea, Sun, Sand) to “3 x E” (Entertainment, Excitement, Education). Desire to enjoy new experiences, feel unique emotions and take certain actions, it is what prevails now. A relatively new form of tourism - dark tourism, provides such an opportunity. Traveling through trails of disasters, accidents, visiting places associated with calamities and death are the best examples of such tourism. The tourism market, which is represented by, among others, the mass media, provides all sorts of information to potential tourists. Natural curiosity and desire to explore the world drives people to see a phenomenon, which is in the centre of attention of everyone. Some travel agencies are introducing innovative tourism products associated with it and by means of that they become more competitive on the tourist market. Yet the question remains whether such trips are a great idea or perhaps they are immoral. On one hand they educate and sensitize people to the plight of others, but on the other hand the human misery is becoming a sort of tourist attraction, therefore one should consider the existence and creation of such innovative offers.