Walking Through the Dark Shadows of History: Dark Tourism and Economy

Titanic is one of the most well-known examples of dark tourism today. The Titanic disaster, which has a history of more than 100 years, still attracts people's attention today. The naval company OceanGate realizes this interest and organizes expeditions with a special submarine. The fee determined by the company for the tickets is 125,000 dollars. Moreover, many items that survived from the ship are on display. The giant shipwreck contains an important copy of Omer Khayyam's Rubaiyat, also known as "The Book Wonderful".

Another example of dark tourism is Chernobyl. The region, where 115,000 people were evacuated after the Chernobyl disaster on April 26, 1986, which has been called the greatest disaster ever caused by humanity, is now a tourism center. Tour companies state that the number of tourists has increased by around 40%, especially after the Chernobyl series.

When we examine it in terms of economy, dark tourism plays an important role in providing the opportunity to earn income in regions that have been unsuitable for tourism due to geographical restrictions. There is a need for labor for hotels and venues built in these regions. It is estimated that this intense interest in dark tourism will increase even more in the coming periods and will play a supporting role in the revival of the country's economies.