Have you ever visited a location impacted by a disaster, such as Chernobyl, Ukraine or Fukushima, Japan? Dark Tourism involves people visiting sites of death or tragedy, where the extraordinary has occurred.
In this episode, dark tourism expert Dr Philip Stone joins Andrew and Josh to understand the motivations for dark tourism and why people visit disaster sites. Philip explains the history behind dark tourism and examples from around the world. He also shares the challenges of balancing education with sensitivity when memorialising tragic events.
Dr Philip Stone is the Executive Director of the Institute for Dark Tourism Research at the University of Central Lancashire in the UK and has a PhD in Thanatology which involves researching society’s reactions to and perceptions of mortality. He has written several books and published extensively about Dark Tourism and speaks regularly at conferences on the topic, in addition to teaching undergraduate and postgraduate courses in tourism, sociology and management at the University.
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