Students See 'Dark Tourism' In Practice
26 April 2006
Normally on holiday people enjoy themselves, but on this visit the students were asked to step back, think about what they experienced and to reflect on it.
”Asia Alder, Tourism Lecturer
Travel and Tourism Management students at the University of Derby have visited the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz and the historic Jewish Quarter of Krakow to experience an emerging phenomenon known as 'dark tourism'.
The subject of 'dark tourism' examines how challenging issues are presented in context. It's an emerging area of study as public interest in travel grows.
The visits formed an essential part of their group trip to Poland just before Easter to see, from the viewpoint of tourists, how modern travel and tourism operates in practice. It comes at a crucial time before they go on their year's work placement in the travel industry.
Travel and Tourism Lecturer Geoff Shirt commented that: "Visiting sites with tragic histories is not new. Sightseers have always been drawn to such places. But the mainstream travel industry is developing its understanding of how they should be represented.
"The demand is certainly there. Well informed modern travellers want to see places associated with sometimes very difficult events in a country's history. People who organise tours and manage these sites must apply knowledge and sensitivity to promote an understanding of what these places mean."
In Poland the students, accompanied by lecturers Asia Alder and Geoff Shirt, were able to observe for themselves the care that goes into representing for tourists some of the worst subjects imaginable. In the beautiful city of Krakow the former synagogue is now a Museum of Judaism celebrating Jewish cultural heritage and showing sensitively what happened there during World War II.
Asia, a doctoral student and part-time lecturer in Travel and Tourism who is herself Polish, said: "Normally on holiday people enjoy themselves, but on this visit the students were asked to step back, think about what they experienced and to reflect on it.
"We visited Poland for the first time - the 60th anniversary year of the liberation of Auschwitz. In the past, group trips had been to more conventional tourist resort destinations. We were concerned that Poland might be an unpopular choice, but it turned out to be so rewarding that we've taken students there again this year."
Hannah Logan, a student who went on last year's visit, gave her reaction to it: "The trip opened my eyes to a completely new and interesting area which has so much to offer for different aspects of tourism that hadn't been touched on previously."
The most harrowing visit was to Auschwitz and nearby Birkenau, which were established as death camps by the Nazis from 1940. The overall number of victims of Auschwitz in the years 1940-1945 is estimated at between 1,100,000 and 1,500,000 people. The last few surviving prisoners were liberated on January 27 1945. In 1947 Auschwitz-Birkenau was designated a Polish State Museum and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Over half a million people visit Auschwitz-Birkenau each year and are given a tour of the fragmented remains of the sites.
Commenting on how they prepared the students, Asia revealed that they were assigned directed reading before the trip and provided tasks and group discussions while there. She said: "We expected them to be stretched by the experience and were prepared to offer counselling to anyone who required it."
The rest of the tour took in many renowned destinations on the Polish tourist trail. The beautiful and historic city of Krakow, fast becoming a popular destination to rival Prague, was the first place they visited, seeing how the business of tourism is transforming the city, looking at different hotels and talking to locals.
Throughout, they had opportunities to brainstorm with other students, to identify 'types' of tourist (for instance, cultural tourists or people there for a cheap hen or stag weekend) and to observe people's behaviour.
These students are based at the University of Derby's Buxton Campus in the Peak District, so a visit to Zakopane in the beautiful Tatra National Park allowed them to compare approaches to landscape management and environmental sustainability, the UN's Agenda 21.
Another highlight of the trip was the chance to view the tunnels, caverns and subterranean lakes of the famous World Heritage registered Wieliczka Salt Mine just outside Krakow. The mine has been worked for 900 years and the salt miners have carved intricate figures and ornamentation with great skill in the crystalline salt. Many figures have religious themes. Some caverns are ornate chapels in their own right.
"When people work in these circumstances, religious faith gives them strength," says Asia. "Many of the carvings are linked to their strong Catholic beliefs."
The students have spent the past two years learning about the business of tourism, marketing and customer relationship management, aspects of geography, heritage and culture, and the impact of tourism on local economies and society. This trip brought the theories to life.
-ends-
For further media information call: Simon Butt, Press and PR Officer at the University of Derby, on 07748 920023 or 01332 591891, or email s.butt@derby.ac.uk.
