Isaac, R.K. (ed.): Dark Tourism Studies. Abingdon and New York, Routledge, 2022. 132 p. 423Book review section – Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 71 (2022) (4) 419–426.DOI: 10.15201/hungeobull.71.4.8 Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 71 2022 (4) Isaac, R.K. (ed.): Dark Tourism Studies. Abingdon and New York, Routledge, 2022. 132 p. The ever-increasing competition among tourism des- tinations results in the emergence of new approaches and products. The tourism industry is taking a second breath after a couple of years of break in the period of the COVID pandemic – this creates opportunities for the new ideas. The so-called dark tourism is one of the emerging fields within tourism, that contributes to the changing field of the industry and impacts the attitudes towards tourism and attractions at the same time. There is a growing popularity and hype of dark tourism in the last decades as it is able to effect the transformation of mindsets and assimilate the frame- work and scale of crucial moments in human history. Rami K. Isaac is a senior lecturer at the Academy for Tourism at Breda University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. His recently edited book is a collec- tion of studies that offers innovative, cutting-edge, and international tourism research that is based on multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary conceptual and empirical ideas. Moreover, throughout the chap- ters, the authors offer new perspectives and possible research directions for future studies on dark tourism. According to the editor of the volume, the book aims to stimulate and advance theoretical, conceptual, and practical study on dark tourism and to get a peek at the kinds of original thinking and academic research. Although the concept of dark tourism has existed for 25 years, it is getting more attractive and relevant in pre- sent times as research interest is broadening and hav- ing popularity among researchers from various fields. The book consists of 7 chapters. Among them, dark tourism has been covered from different per- spectives, such as emotional, ethical, educational, and commemorative aspects. The chapters could be restructured into two sections according to the key concepts. The initial four chapters can be considered studies of the experiences and emotions of dark tour- ism visitors, and the last three chapters could become a part of edutainment in dark tourism. As it is highlighted in the book, due to the gap in the research, there is no exact proven relation be- tween dark tourism and heritage in scientific papers. However, they have interdisciplinary connections. The primary purpose of Chapter 1 by James Kennell and Raymond Powell is to assess the association and degree of the overlapping between heritage and dark tourism from the perspective of World Heritage Sites (WHS) perception. Even from the name itself, dark tourism is perceived as negatively affiliated with death and atrocity. Therefore, heritage-oriented sci- entists dispute in acceptability of dark tourism to WHS studies. There are also some debates on how dark tourism relates to eerie events. However, many dark sites are dynamic and towering structured ser- vice landscapes, including World Heritage Sites. The study area of Chapter 1 is Maritime Greenwich, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in London, United Kingdom. Surveys among participants of the research were conducted using the Delphi technique. This study offers a unified perspective on the connection between dark tourism and heritage from a vast col- lection of heritage tourism stakeholders. Chapter 2 discusses the gap in the research related to feminine crime in dark tourism. Generally, mur- der tours worldwide mainly focus on cases where men are the killers and women are their victims. According to the authors (Bailey A. Adie and Esther J. Snell), if female killers are less prevalent in modern murders than male killers are, this must be partially because of how gender and crime are perceived so- cially and how they are used and portrayed in con- temporary society. However, misunderstanding murder’s role as a social issue can result from distor- tion, which can perpetuate false stereotypes. When the killer is unknown, it is fascinating to observe that mystery killers are typically thought to be males. As a 424 Book review section – Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 71 (2022) (4) 419–426. result, even in the absence of explicit gender, it is safe to presume that the narratives of these tours have a masculine gender role in mind. Chapter 2 concludes that women are frequently ignored in the activities of murder-related dark tourism, which is not surprising given the academic and criminological link between men and murder. The goal of this essay was not to refute the term ‘dark tourism.’ Still, it does appear that visiting crime scenes, particularly those of violent crimes, may differ from visiting commemorated trag- edy sites like Auschwitz in Poland or Ground Zero in New York. These locations serve as a means of re- membering the victims of these incidents. In contrast, violent criminal tourism practices demean the victims and frequently serve as a celebration for the perpetra- tor. However, the analysis and conceptual basis of Chapter 2 could be broadened in a sense of gender issue as only women’s crimes are discussed in this part of the book. Thus, future studies can incorpo- rate a broader analysis of gender issues by research- ing murders of transgender, two-spirit, non-binary genders and pangender. Furthermore, it would be intriguing to learn whether dark tourism to crime scenes occurs outside of the Western, predominantly English-speaking globe and, if so, whether these loca- tions serve to reinforce local cultural gender norms. Chapter 3 by Martin MacCarthy and Ker Ni Heng Rigney describes a study that used a variety of quali- tative techniques. This research investigates visitors’ experiences at the Anzac National Center in Western Australia to comprehend the level of involvement, the emotions connected to it, and the everyday conduct connected to antipodal commemorism. The Anzac National Center, which was inaugurated in 2014, and the area around it are very significant to Australia and New Zealand since this is where soldiers leaving for the Great War of 1914–1918 assembled before their long trip to an unknowable fate. Popular topics in commemorative studies include place and collective social memory. One critique in Chapter 3 is that dark tourism drew large numbers of visitors at the expense of converting the memorial into a theme park. We are demeaning our past, as Daley, P. (2019) warns, by altering the Australian War Memorial into a theme park. However, the spectacular and moving moments in the nation’s history deserve to be memorialized. Hirsch, M. (2008) says that memories can be transmit- ted to the following generation as a ‘post-memory’ if they are sufficiently painful. Thus, from generation to age, memory continues to be politicized. The research questions such as “What is the rela- tionship between hero worship and compassion to- wards guests?” remain unanswered as the authors’ initiative seeks to deepen our understanding of dark tourism. What concepts can be applied to the design and upkeep of historical monuments to improve tourists’ expectations for immersive Caritas? Is re- membrance truly dark tourism, or should the hyper- name be changed? The authors claim that many re- spondents concur with the practicality that personnel should be paid and facilities should be maintained. At the same time, some criticize and emphasize the charging of access fees to a sacred site. As it was mentioned before, the first four chapters emphasize awareness of the experience and emo- tions of the visitors of dark tourism sites. Chapter 4 strokes on consumer behavior, psychology, services and tourism to comprehend how the feelings and emotions engendered by dark travel experiences lead travellers to reflect on death-related issues and inter- act in thought methods that in spin empower them to develop insight into dark places and death. Previous studies have been criticized for highlighting motives over the characteristics and effects of dark tourism, particularly their phenomenological and contextual underpinnings. The results of Chapter 4 add value to the field by using a reflective autoethnographic approach to learn more about the experience of dark tourism. This chapter includes a literature review on how emotions relate to dark tourism, methods, analysis, and results with discussion. In this part, the autoethnography approach is a crucial tool. In a narrative research approach, individual experiences are described and systematically examined to com- prehend cultural experiences (Ellis, C. et al. 2011). As a study site, Ground Zero, Gettysburg Park, and Ellis Island were selected. In terms of the kinds and degrees of emotions elicited and their effects on in- trospection, critical thinking, and transformation, Ground Zero has been identified as the location with the highest emotional engagement. At the same time, Gettysburg sparked emotions of sorrow over the Civil War casualties as well as an appreciation for the pride of the American people in maintaining their heritage and giving it its unique meaning. The authors, Marianna Sigala and Effie Steriopoulos concluded that the visitor experience in frightening locations ought to be thematically connected to tales and genuine artifacts with sym- bolic significance that can arouse intense feelings and thinking and open the door to novel interpretations. Chapter 4 suggests dark site managers must be con- scious of the elements and procedures that can elicit a variety of emotions in visitors to settle better and cre- ate their services and experiences to provoke suitable feelings in visitors. The authors also provide some proposals for additional investigation. One of these involves determining whether Asian travelers touring Western dark sites have positive or negative emotions and how they can contemplate them and extrapolate creative meanings, and vice versa. Drawing on the re- sults presented in the chapter, future research should look into the function and effects of tourists’ inter- actions and reflections, including those with other visitors and with themselves, dark site artifacts, their story messages, and symbolism. 425Book review section – Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 71 (2022) (4) 419–426. According to its authors (Brianna Wyatt, Anna Leask and Paul Barron), Chapter 5 was initially written to highlight that edutainment seems underdeveloped and underused amongst researchers in dark tourism. In this context, edutainment means organizing entertainment dark tours through educating people. The influence of the edutainment interpretation of three lighter dark visitor attractions, which are offered as new attractions to explore as part of the dark tourism study, is thus critically examined in this part of the book. This study deepens the knowledge of dark tourism in relation to variety of LDVAs (lighter dark visitor attractions), their interpretation, and the use of dark tourism education initiatives. Dark tourism can allow viewers to connect with a painful past through interpretation by acting as a trigger for emotional values and information en- richment (Kim, S. and Butler, G. 2015). According to surveys, LDVA receives much criticism for trivial en- tertainment that dilutes historical accuracy by softening and removing narrative and erasure the surroundings (Dwyer, O. and Alderman, D. 2008; Silverman, H. 2011; Stone, P. 2006). Others have responded by asserting that LDVA genuinely educates viewers and satisfies tourists’ interest in darker tales from older days through accurate and authentic displays in its amusement pro- gramming (Rodriguez-Garcia, B. 2012; Magee, R. and Gilmore, A. 2015; Welch, M. 2016). In the chapter, three different LDVAs, The Real Mary King’s Close in Edinburgh, Sick to Death Museum in Chester, and Gravedigger Ghost Tour in Dublin, were chosen by deliberate sampling as the sites where data gathering was to happen. Each delivered an interpretation using a curriculum that combined education and entertainment with varied approaches to inform, provoke, and engage the au- dience. The focus groups were asked to answer the question: what is your perception of the design and management of the interpretation of your attraction? The data analysis revealed three other elements that affect how LDVA entertainment and instructional programs are perceived: pop culture allusions, the nature of the material and other alluring features, and competitiveness. The results demonstrate a clear awareness that each LDVA has worked to construct its vision in a way that teaches its audience and pro- vides historically correct and academically sound ma- terial, despite the influence of pop culture references and the popularity of edutainment. It was shown that none of the LDVA members intended to change his- tory or stir up violence just for the sake of it. The findings of this study, which looked at how edutain- ment interpretation affected design, deepen our un- derstanding of dark tourism because they go against many of the publications claiming that LDVAs typi- cally do not consider issues of factual accuracy and most frequently marginalize history through myths. Chapter 6 investigates the significance of students’ educational experiences focusing on the effects of stu- dents’ visits to gloomy tourist destinations on their internal and behavioural activity. This issue has been studied rarely and incompletely in previous research. As university students are one of the most often tar- geted audiences for edutainment, the authors have analysed their attitudes in the study. The goal of Chapter 6 is to examine the value of students’ edu- cation programs in dark tourist spots with an em- phasis on the after-visit impacts, which are behav- ioural activity that is both inwardly and outwardly directed. The research is based on longitudinal data gathered from study tours of various dark tourism destinations in Latvia from 2014 to 2019, which were organized as a part of an undergraduate course. During the research trips, students visited three to four sites associated with the Nazi and communist regimes. Excursions or educational tours are viewed as a method for experiential learning. However, it is important to highlight that the research has a signifi- cant limitation due the size of the analysed sample. The number of students and the number of site vis- its varied annually. As a consequence, each site had anywhere between 12 and 103 replies. Due to this, authors limited data analysis to websites that at least 30 students visited and concluded that visiting dark tourism destinations, which represent the darkest end of the spectrum, generally results in more significant aftereffects than seeing the lighter end. The outcomes of this chapter support earlier research that shows that students regard the tourist destinations with the most educational value to be the darkest. The findings also demonstrate that not all of the dark tourism des- tinations featured in the tour program successfully stimulated tourists’ cognitive and affective responses. Chapter 7 also describes a study with a case of a mix of educational and dark tourism in Fukushima, Japan. The study consists of two parts: first, examin- ing how educational and dark tourism ideas have evolved in Japan; second, how the Fukushima Hope visitor tour’s educational dark tourism component came about. Due to the cultural background of Fukushima, the terms ‘peace tourism’ and ‘hope tour- ism’ are alternatives that avoid the word ‘dark tour- ism’ but still incorporate dark tourism elements in the context of educational tourism. Local governments rarely use the phrase ‘dark tourism’ in Japan. They worry that even though dark tourism includes both ‘light’ and ‘dark’, if a place is called ‘dark tourism,’ it will acquire a bad reputation. Specifically, data and knowledge about natural disasters and their preven- tion, information and understanding about emergen- cy preparedness, sorrow and prayer for the victims of the natural catastrophe, and landscapes of the afflicted area were utilized to measure the element of education or ‘dark.’ On the other hand, natural scenery, food and specialty, culture, and attractions, were applied to quantify enjoyment or ‘light’ factors. The excursion’s analysis provided insight into how 426 Book review section – Hungarian Geographical Bulletin 71 (2022) (4) 419–426. education and entertainment may be blended and how they can enhance one another to assist the public to acknowledge the area and even promoting it. Dark tourism is not new, but evolving popularity gives the opportunity for forgotten history to be re- vised and transferred to the public. The editor of the volume, Rami K. Isaac concluded that multiple types of visitors, such as victims, perpetrators, and observ- ers, must be distinguished. The term ‘victims’ refers to people who, in some way, identify with victims and take action to seek justice or reparation on their behalf. The ‘perpetrators’ have a relationship with individuals who perpetrated the crime, even from a distance. The category of ‘observers’ is more com- plicated, but it also includes those who are deeply attached while not belonging to any of the categories. According to Isaac, greater research is required to understand the various visitor kinds thoroughly, but this is a highly intriguing topic. Studies included in the book have discussed a lot about the negative and positive emotions and experiences of tourists. Dark Tourism Studies proved that there is a significant gap in the research of dark tourism regarding the under- standing of the emotional experience of visitors. I wholeheartedly suggest the volume to everyone interested in dark tourism studies and its contem- porary trends. The book is helpful for people who wish to learn about the theories and approaches of dark tourism and obtain inspiration for further research. After going through the book for the first time, I noted that seven researches majorly were about the experiences and emotions of the visitors and the edutainment significance of dark tourism. Thus, the first four chapters belong to a part about the experiences and emotions of dark tourists, and the last three chapters can be included into the edu- cation and entertainment section. The book is a fine collection of different aspects of dark tourism studies in terms of gender equality, emotions, experiences, and commemoration. Aigerim Assylkhanova1 R E F E R E N C E S Daley, P. 2019. We demean our history when we turn the Australian War memorial into Disneyland. The Guardian (5 Sept. 2019). Available at: https:// www.theguardian.com/australia-news/postco- lonial-blog/2019/sep/05/we-demean-our-history- when-we-turn-the-australian-war-memorial-into- disneyland 1 University of Szeged, Department of Economic and Social Geography, Szeged, Hungary. E-mail: aigerim.assylkhanova@gmail.com Dwyer, O. and Alderman, D. 2008. Civil Rights Memorials and the Geography of Memory. Chicago, Center for American Places at Columbia College Chicago. Ellis, C., Adams, T.E. and Bochner, A.P. 2011. Autoethnography: An overview. Historical Social Research / Historische Sozialforschung 36. (4): 273–290. Hirsch, M. 2008. The generation of postmemory. Poetics Today 29. (1): 103–128. Kim, S. and Butler, G. 2015. Local community per- spectives towards dark tourism development: The case of Snowtown, South Australia. Journal of Tourism and Cultural Change 13. (1): 78–89. Magee, R. and Gilmore, A. 2015. Heritage site man- agement: From dark tourism to transformative service experience. The Service Industries Journal 35. (15–16): 898–917. Rodriguez-Garcia, B. 2012. Management issues in dark tourism attractions: The case of ghost tours in Edinburgh and Toledo. Journal of Unconventional Parks, Tourism & Recreation Research 4. (1): 14–19. Silverman, H. 2011. Contested cultural heritage: A selective historiography. In Contested Cultural Heritage: Religion, Nationalism, Erasure and Exclusion in a Global World. Ed.: Silverman, H., New York, Springer, 1–49. Stone, P. 2006. A dark tourism spectrum: Towards a typology of death and macabre related tourist sites, attractions and exhibitions. TOURISM: An Interdisciplinary International Journal 54. (2): 145–160. Welch, M. 2016. Political imprisonment and the sanctity of death: Performing heritage in ‘troubled’ Ireland. International Journal of Heritage Studies 22. (9): 664–678. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/postcolonial-blog/2019/sep/05/we-demean-our-history-when-we-turn-the-australian-war-memorial-into-disneyland https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/postcolonial-blog/2019/sep/05/we-demean-our-history-when-we-turn-the-australian-war-memorial-into-disneyland https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/postcolonial-blog/2019/sep/05/we-demean-our-history-when-we-turn-the-australian-war-memorial-into-disneyland https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/postcolonial-blog/2019/sep/05/we-demean-our-history-when-we-turn-the-australian-war-memorial-into-disneyland https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/postcolonial-blog/2019/sep/05/we-demean-our-history-when-we-turn-the-australian-war-memorial-into-disneyland