Dark tourism - part two

Examining the energy in one dark tourism space

mask from Chernobyl, from Unsplash

Hello Readers!

There are a few more of you here and every time someone new subscribes I am excited but also wonder what the heck my welcome email says - so I’m going to check on that and revamp it, if needed. If you didn’t get one, my apologies! I am very happy that you’re here to read about tourism issues, themes in tourism, some fun and informative travel links, and my roundup of books, music or podcasts, and TV/movies.

I normally publish around the 15th and the end of the month. Sometimes the end of the month becomes the beginning of the month, like this one. I am not holding myself to a strict schedule but the goal is two per month and so far so good.

Earlier this month, I introduced Dark Tourism and what it is. I linked that issue in case you need a refresh or you missed it. In this edition, there is more about dark tourism but I’ll be touching on the feelings and energy surrounding it. Thank you to readers Aoife and Beth for bringing up that topic. I think it is interesting and wanted to explore it. I’ll also link an article about residents’ feelings about visitors to dark tourism sites. It’s a lot and my consuming section is long this time, you might have to expand this newsletter or read it in your browser to fit the whole thing. Okay, let’s go!

Links

Kenya is going visa-free for everyone. Woohoo, those lines can be long. I waited in one for at least 2 hours. There is now an electronic ETA that costs 34 USD. The visa was previously 50 USD.

An update on the Boeing 737-9 Max safety. I find this title amusing, do we get a choice? Is someone going to see the plane at the gate and refuse to board or demand a different aircraft? I guess stranger things have happened. Seems like it is safe to be in the air again though.

“We made clear this aircraft would not go back into service until it was safe,” FAA administrator Mike Whitaker said in announcing the news this week. “The exhaustive, enhanced review our team completed after several weeks of information gathering gives me and the FAA confidence to proceed to the inspection and maintenance phase.”

Ecuador’s state of emergency and updates. They are gradually returning to a state of normality. Good, I have met so many wonderful people in my two visits there. Guayaquil travel is not advised, flights to the Galapagos and the islands themselves are business as usual, and a lot of the country is “getting back to normal.”

Sunset in the Galapagos on the island of Isabela, November 2022

Two countries, Romania and Bulgaria, are joining the Schengen area in the spring. Read on to find out what this means.

Are you a nervous flier? Maybe these tips can help! Once I was on a boat in the Faroe Islands in the open ocean with what felt like huge waves and unsafe. I had befriended a Swedish couple and went on this excursion with them, one of them said something that stuck with me. It was if the people in charge are calm, it is probably fine. On this particular boat, I looked at the captain and since he was cool as a cucumber, I relaxed a bit. Yes, it is the captain’s or pilot’s job to maintain calm but it is not easy to hide when one is actually stressed out about safety and all of the lives in their hands. So, if the pilot or flight attendants seem visibly stressed out, then I will get nervous about evacuation or rescue or whatever I need to do. I hope that none of us ever experience any such situation. If you have, do you want to talk about it?

Destruction in the town of Chernobyl. Photo by Yves Alarie on Unsplash

Dark Tourism the tourist experience

Feeling dark, seeing dark: Mind-body in dark tourism

Until 2011, Chernboyl access was extremely limited - it was seen as a deterrent to tourists but since 2015-ish, large tour operators have brought in 10,000 visitors inside of the site annually. It is one of the most globally well-known dark tourism sites and that is why the researchers Sun and Lv chose it for their study.

First, the Chernobyl incident was described to the participants for 10 min, including the incident and consequences. The content of the introduction was objective, and the incident was explained using data as much as possible. The materials used in the process were taken from Wikipedia and the BBC documentary The Battle of Chernobyl. No images were shown to avoid any misleading visual images. Second, the participants were asked to answer questions regarding their feelings about the Chernobyl accident.

These two researchers conducted a few studies with photos of Chernobyl with adjusted darkness and lightness and asked participants in one study to color in line drawings using charcoal pencils of varying darkness.

Embodiment in tourism experience was usually discussed as humans versus the physical environment. The interaction between tourists’ embodiment in dark tourism is little explored; however, dark tourism experiences especially involve human understanding and empathy. Based on the above results, this study further discovers a “mind–body–mind” decoding process, which shows the transfer of emotions through the embodiment of visions between the different tourist groups

The researchers wrote that “dark tourism experiences are related to both visual and more darkness” and they sought to study the mind-body connection. I am not going to get into the granular details of the study and analysis here in this newsletter. I like to keep it lighter so that it is accessible and interesting to everyone and I always link so that you can go read the whole thing if you fancy.

The researchers found that the participants’ experiences were affected by the visual representations of Chernobyl. The study participants coloured in the line drawings according to their feelings about the subject. The darker the drawings, the sadder or darker they felt. Simple and not surprising.

A previous study that was referenced in this paper found that a lighter environment increases the likelihood of moral behaviour. This probably doesn’t surprise anyone. The last takeaway from Sun and Lv stated that their research could be used by tourism marketing of dark tourism experiences. They concluded that “different levels of darkness not only create experiences, but can also be created by experienced tourists and then further be interpreted by other tourists which offers a deep understanding of embodied dark tourism experiences.”

Studying and recording the dark tourism experiences of tourists helps other tourists (and marketers and researchers) understand the experience more and perhaps even helps in designing the desired tourist path or experience through such a space. Dark tourism is still new-ish as a niche and I mentioned in the last editions that the Vilnius museum is on its third name since 2016. Perhaps that is part of the learning and growing process of dark tourism sites. Overall, this was an interesting article to read and their method and study were simple.

For further reading on the topic, you can also check out this open-access article “From mixed emotional experience to spiritual meaning: learning in dark tourism spaces”.

Consuming

Photo by Tom Hermans on Unsplash

Reading:

Red Rising (book 1) - this one is a sci-fi book about a colony on Mars that has been separated into a caste-like society and so far pretty interesting but very violent. I'm about two-thirds of the way through and unsure if I’ll continue to books two and three.

I am listening to Madly, Deeply: The Diaries of Alan Rickman. I only wish this was read by him, his voice is so distinct. I am only 2 hours into this 20-hour audiobook but I am thoroughly enjoying it. I know him as Severus Snape, Hans Gruber, and the husband of Emma Thompson in Love, Actually. So, not much, really, considering his stage career and other films. I’m enjoying listening to the thoughts, musings, and interactions with his wife, family, friends, and other actors. I like memoirs and this is a bit of a challenge to stay focused on while listening to because I don’t like reading diary entries within novels (or charts and graphs, I will skim or skip, sue me) so I think the audiobook was the right choice for me. I am training my audiobook listening muscles.

I finished listening to Fourth Wing - I started the audiobook when I began my 21 k/13 mi long run two weeks ago. I truly expected to turn it off after 10 minutes and return it to the library. However, it was easy listening and I was entertained, the story was intriguing from the start. It does get spicy about 75% of the way through and then is quite descriptive. There is no mystery to what goes on in the spicy scenes. I was cooking dinner one night when I got to that part and I think it could have been shorter or as I told a friend, I wish the author had yadda yadda’d through that a bit more (like from Seinfeld) but, she didn’t. Oh well. I still obtained the second book because there was a big plot twist at the end of book one. It is an entertaining fantasy story about an unlikely candidate to go to war college and learn to be a dragon rider, following her mother and sister’s path.

I just picked up three books from the library, Such a Fun Age, Horrorstor, and Black Cake. I will link them when I start them.

Listening: There is no Taylor Swift in this section. Sorry (not sorry).

Wall of Eyes, is the new album by The Smile (a Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood side project to Radiohead and a talented drummer I’d never heard of, Tom Skinner). I am a fan of anything any of the Radiohead guys do together or solo. This album and The Smile are not Radiohead, so even though Thom Yorke’s voice is distinct, the music is a bit different. My favourite song on the new album is Read the Room.

If you like Radiohead or are simply looking for new music, check out Ed O’Brien’s solo album too, it is from 2020, I think. He also covered/remixed one of Paul McCartney's more recent songs too, Slidin’. I like it more than the original, don’t tell Paul.

And, really digging an oldie in All Things Must Pass by George Harrison. Previously, I had not listened to much of his solo work but I was missing out. The first song, I’d Have You Anytime, is the standout for me. I also enjoy the simple album cover, I have the vinyl (and some other records) and an actual record player is my next home purchase.

Rediscovered Rufus Wainwright - I’d forgotten about him and I enjoy his music so much. I remembered him after seeing his house for sale on Zillow Gone Wild. I normally don’t like the homes featured on that site but I would move in there and not change a thing. I love the colours, the books, the unique light fixtures and the quirky accents. I can see how it inspires creativity and it looks like a house full of fun, creativity, and memories. LIVE LAUGH LOVE, right?! Kidding.

I also found this album of covers last night, by one of my favourite Scottish bands, Travis. I’ve liked them since high school, had my first exposure to them at a festival where they opened for a band I was there to see. (It was Oasis). Travis has oodles more talent. And I have seen Travis thrice now. And I met them at an acoustic set they played at Reckless Records in Chicago before their concert that I also went to. Good times. And finally, Thee Sacred Souls. LOVING them. Check out their song “Can I Call You Rose?”

And that’s enough blathering about music! It’s another passion of mine.

Watching:

I’m sure I am the last person in the world to finally watch or finish White Lotus, both seasons. I started the second one first, and I realize that is chaotic and bothers some people, but oh well. The seasons are both standalone and I heard from several friends that they liked season two more. I was invested in the plot of the second season and didn’t hate any characters (except for Cameron) but was also upset with the ending for a few of them even though it seemed fitting.

Season 1, good lord. I could not stand the two teenage girls and the stupid newlywed guy whose name I refused to learn because he got under my skin. I am pretty sure I’ve been on a date with a version of that guy. He thinks he’s entitled to everything and will wear anyone and everyone down to get it. I did not hate the hotel manager played by Murray Bartlett, I know I should. He gave me Basil Fawlty vibes, has anyone ever watched Fawlty Towers? He did go off the rails and did horrible things. However, I have worked in retail, food service and a hotel. People can be demanding. Every industry has its version of problem customers and I felt his fury a bit but would never do the things he did. I would see a therapist or go scream on the beach at night into the void.

I also watched a comedy/horror movie called Totally Killer. Kiernan Shipka was the star and she time travels from 2023 to 1987 to solve a town’s murder mystery. I enjoyed her modern look back at the 1980s and it was not a masterpiece but it was fun, a little bit of a mystery, and not for kids.

I binged Griselda to get some Spanish listening practice and was reminded of how flexible one Spanish swear word is in its meaning. I was interested and did not know it was based on a true story until I got to the last episode and Googled her. The show is very violent and there’s a lot of drug use and sex. It is probably not for kids.

This was a long one! Thanks for being here, for sticking around to the end and see you mid-month for a new topic!

Sonya