Md. Fahim Hasan :
Death is a word that tends to put a darker shade in peoples mood over a second. So, it would be pretty hard to imagine doing business and gaining profits based on someone’s death. But as we know, it is possible to sell anything and everything with a right attitude and a customized scheme. This could be observed very easily in the tourism industry. In recent times death has taken a very special spot in the interests of tourists from all over the globe. Surely it’s not ethical to visit places with ongoing disasters just to eyebeam, but much good can come courteous tourist acts.
The phrase “Dark tourism” is somewhat an old concept but it is yet to flourish in our country as a viable business concept. The term generally dictates tourism that primarily focuses on death or tragedy. Although, the concept is as old as the late 1990’s with a view to actually turning war or disaster zones into tourist attractions such as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Atomic Bomb Dome) established in 1996.
As tourism not only brings growth in a country’s economy, in this case it can also boost a country’s image suffering from an ongoing tragedy. Tourism also brings employment creating lots of opportunities for the local people and with the addition of foreign exchange money a suffering country can only be benefited towards turning around from the ongoing mishap. The disaster zones can be made into permanent tourist attractions such as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, the 9/11 memorial, Chernobyl, Ukraine and so on. Dark Tourism can be combined with other kinds of tourist activities such as Education tourism and Pilgrimage.
It can attract media and also researchers from all over the world as well as promoting volunteer acts both locally and globally. Through dark tourism not only the disaster zones can be revived, but also the whole world can be benefited as it can raise global awareness. Although the risk remains of the use of a disastrous event to solely gain money, much more good can come from the ethical practice of Dark Tourism.
Bangladesh can hold its own in this new criterion of the tourism industry as we have places with a lot of potential to be great dark tourism destinations. In Dhanmondi 32, the house of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman remains where he along with his family was murdered ruthlessly on 15th of August, 1975. It was turned into “Bangabandhu Memorial Museum” in 1997. By taking the proper steps this museum can be turned into a great tourist attraction as it relates to one of the greatest leaders that the world has ever seen. The National Monument, Rayerbazar Boddhobhumi (War Cemetery), the Liberation War Museum are some of many precedents in our country which connects directly to our great liberation war. The Shaheed Minar is another monument that the whole world can connect with which was built to commemorate the sacrifice made by our youth on 21 February, 1952. This date later on in 1999 was acknowledged by the UNESCO as the “International Mother Language Day” which the whole celebrates dearly. With proper restorations and branding these places can be turned into great dark tourism destinations. This can not only enhance our tourism industry but also give people all over the world the opportunity to connect with the history of our country.
Dark tourism can not only quench the thirst of travel thirsty people it can also help them pay their tributes to the deserving sufferers. It can also help a suffering country to stand on its feet and move towards a better future. In short, Dark Tourism can take the travel industry of not only this country, but of the world to heights it has never gone before.
(Md. Fahim Hasan, Dept. of Marketing, Jahangirnagar University, Savar, Dhaka)
