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Visiting the trenches: Exploring meanings and motivations in battlefield tourism

Author

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  • Dunkley, Ria
  • Morgan, Nigel
  • Westwood, Sheena

Abstract

This paper provides insights into the motivations and experiences of tourists who visit sites associated with war and conflict, specifically 25 individuals who participated in a tour of the World War One battlefields of the Somme and Ypres. The paper discusses the narratives of four of these individuals to illustrate in detail how such battlefield tours offer opportunities for pilgrimage, collective and personal remembrance and event validation. All of the participants had a prior interest in warfare, which was a key influence on their battlefield tour experiences. For the study participants battlefield tours emerge as complex, deeply meaningful and in some cases life-changing experiences.

Suggested Citation

  • Dunkley, Ria & Morgan, Nigel & Westwood, Sheena, 2011. "Visiting the trenches: Exploring meanings and motivations in battlefield tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(4), pages 860-868.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:touman:v:32:y:2011:i:4:p:860-868
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tourman.2010.07.011
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    Cited by:

    1. Bassil Charbel, 2013. "Intervention Model for Analyzing the Lebanese Tourism Sector," Review of Middle East Economics and Finance, De Gruyter, vol. 8(3), pages 1-15, January.
    2. Metod Šuligoj, 2019. "Dark Events of the Istrian Countryside: An Electronic Media Perspective," Academica Turistica - Tourism and Innovation Journal, University of Primorska Press, vol. 12(2), pages 121-132.
    3. Winter, Caroline, 2015. "Ritual, remembrance and war: Social memory at Tyne Cot," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 16-29.
    4. Zhang, Honglei & Yang, Yang & Zheng, Chunhui & Zhang, Jie, 2016. "Too dark to revisit? The role of past experiences and intrapersonal constraints," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 452-464.
    5. Podoshen, Jeffrey S., 2013. "Dark tourism motivations: Simulation, emotional contagion and topographic comparison," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 263-271.
    6. Šťastná Milada & Vaishar Antonín & Ryglová Kateřina & Rašovská Ida & Zámečník Silvie, 2020. "Cultural Tourism as a Possible Driver of Rural Development in Czechia. Wine Tourism in Moravia as a Case Study," European Countryside, Sciendo, vol. 12(3), pages 292-311, September.
    7. Yan, Bing-Jin & Zhang, Jie & Zhang, Hong-Lei & Lu, Shao-Jing & Guo, Yong-Rui, 2016. "Investigating the motivation–experience relationship in a dark tourism space: A case study of the Beichuan earthquake relics, China," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 108-121.
    8. Merwe Clinton David van der, 2014. "Battlefields Tourism: The status of heritage tourism in Dundee, South Africa," Bulletin of Geography. Socio-economic Series, Sciendo, vol. 26(26), pages 1-19, December.
    9. Light, Duncan, 2017. "Progress in dark tourism and thanatourism research: An uneasy relationship with heritage tourism," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 275-301.
    10. Brida, Juan Gabriel & González Rosas, Erika Lourdes & Seijas Giménez, María Nela, 2023. "Dark satisfaction in Guanajuato’s Mummies Museum visitors," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 9(1), pages 15-24.
    11. Gieling, Joost & Ong, Chin-Ee, 2016. "Warfare tourism experiences and national identity: The case of Airborne Museum ‘Hartenstein’ in Oosterbeek, the Netherlands," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 45-55.
    12. Leask, Anna, 2016. "Visitor attraction management: A critical review of research 2009–2014," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 334-361.
    13. Carolina Aldao & Tanja A. Mihalic, 2020. "New Frontiers in Travel Motivation and Social Media: The Case of Longyearbyen, the High Arctic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-18, July.
    14. Brau, Rinaldo & Statzu, Vania, 2017. "The economic enhancement of military sites and landscapes: what are the lessons of international practice?," MPRA Paper 98570, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Virgili, Sandrine & Delacour, Hélène & Bornarel, Frédéric & Liarte, Sébastien, 2018. "‘From the Flames to the Light’: 100 years of the commodification of the dark tourist site around the Verdun battlefield," Annals of Tourism Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 61-72.
    16. Mohd Salehuddin Mohd Zahari & Mohd Hafiz Hanafiah & Syarifah Syafeera Syed Mahboob & Nor Adilah Md. Zain, 2016. "Dark tourism: is it a growth segment for the Malaysia tourism industry?," Tourism and Hospitality Management, University of Rijeka, Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality Management, vol. 22(1), pages 47-56, May.
    17. Samida Stefanie, 2018. "Schlachtfelder als touristische Destinationen: Zum Konzept des Thanatourismus aus kulturwissenschaftlicher Sicht," Zeitschrift für Tourismuswissenschaft, De Gruyter, vol. 10(2), pages 267-290, October.

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