War tourism
Encyclopedia
War tourism is a term the media uses to describe the idea of recreational travel to war zone
s for purposes of sightseeing and superficial voyeurism
. War tourist is also a pejorative
term to describe thrill seeking in dangerous and forbidden places. There has been no proof of the concept in real life but the idea has gained currency in a number of media reports, none of which have actually interviewed or found a tourist who have visited active combat areas as a tourist. However, the Norwegian semi-autobigraphical novel Turisten (The Tourist) published in 2007 by the author Erik Bakken Olafsen treats the theme war tourism extensively. (The book has not been translated into English yet.)
There have been a number of tourists caught up in war torn regions, many who visit active war zones like Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Algeria, Colombia and other regions at war. There are many freelance
journalists who describe themselves humorously as "war tourists" (P.J. O'Rourke
is the most famous) and mercenaries who have pretended to be tourists to avoid discovery as in Michael Hoare's
attempt to take over the Seychelles
disguised as "The Royal Order of Frothblowers".
During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis, for example, Beirut
was full of tourists who were forced to leave when fighting with Israel broke out. Tourists have also been targeted in Kenya, the Philippines and other regions due to their media value and damage to the country's tourist industry. It could be argued that continued tourism to these regions is war tourism, even though active combat is free from tourist access.
The initial myth of war tourism was actually started by a collection of stories by P.J. O'Rourke. His mocking and cynical view of journalism in conflict areas entitled 'Holidays in Hell: In Which Our Intrepid Reporter Travels to the World's Worst Places and Asks, "What's Funny About This" planted the idea that maybe journalists are after all tourists on an expense account.
The PBS
TV show, Frontline, used the phrase war tourism to describe a practice in Iraq of US troops going on daylight patrols and returning in the evening to heavily defended large bases.
A book on this topic is Dark Tourism (Tourism, Leisure & Recreation)
by Malcolm Foley and John Lennon. The authors explore the idea that people are attracted to regions and sites where "inhuman acts" have occurred. They claim that motivation is driven by media coverage and a desire to see for themselves, and that there is a symbiotic
relationship between the attraction and the visitor, whether it be a death camp or site of a celebrity's death. Much of their focus is on ancient sites where "acts of inhumanity are celebrated as heritage sites in Britain (for example, the Tower of London
, Edinburgh Castle
) and the Berlin Wall
"
War tourism is also confused with "Battlefield tourism": the visiting of sites which have a relevance to historic battles, such as the German WW2 fortification, the Atlantic Wall
or the Maginot Line
in France.
War Zone
A war zone is a location of military conflict, but the term may also refer to:* War Zone , a 1998 documentary about street harassment* The War Zone, a 1999 film starring Ray Winstone...
s for purposes of sightseeing and superficial voyeurism
Voyeurism
In clinical psychology, voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other activity usually considered to be of a private nature....
. War tourist is also a pejorative
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
term to describe thrill seeking in dangerous and forbidden places. There has been no proof of the concept in real life but the idea has gained currency in a number of media reports, none of which have actually interviewed or found a tourist who have visited active combat areas as a tourist. However, the Norwegian semi-autobigraphical novel Turisten (The Tourist) published in 2007 by the author Erik Bakken Olafsen treats the theme war tourism extensively. (The book has not been translated into English yet.)
There have been a number of tourists caught up in war torn regions, many who visit active war zones like Israel, Lebanon, Myanmar, Algeria, Colombia and other regions at war. There are many freelance
Freelancer
A freelancer, freelance worker, or freelance is somebody who is self-employed and is not committed to a particular employer long term. These workers are often represented by a company or an agency that resells their labor and that of others to its clients with or without project management and...
journalists who describe themselves humorously as "war tourists" (P.J. O'Rourke
P. J. O'Rourke
Patrick Jake "P. J." O'Rourke is an American political satirist, journalist, writer, and author. O'Rourke is the H. L. Mencken Research Fellow at the Cato Institute and is a regular correspondent for The Atlantic Monthly, The American Spectator, and The Weekly Standard, and frequent panelist on...
is the most famous) and mercenaries who have pretended to be tourists to avoid discovery as in Michael Hoare's
Mike Hoare
Thomas Michael Hoare is an Irish mercenary leader known for military activities in Africa and his failed attempt to conduct a coup d'état in the Seychelles.-Early life and military career:...
attempt to take over the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
disguised as "The Royal Order of Frothblowers".
During the 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis, for example, Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
was full of tourists who were forced to leave when fighting with Israel broke out. Tourists have also been targeted in Kenya, the Philippines and other regions due to their media value and damage to the country's tourist industry. It could be argued that continued tourism to these regions is war tourism, even though active combat is free from tourist access.
The initial myth of war tourism was actually started by a collection of stories by P.J. O'Rourke. His mocking and cynical view of journalism in conflict areas entitled 'Holidays in Hell: In Which Our Intrepid Reporter Travels to the World's Worst Places and Asks, "What's Funny About This" planted the idea that maybe journalists are after all tourists on an expense account.
The PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
TV show, Frontline, used the phrase war tourism to describe a practice in Iraq of US troops going on daylight patrols and returning in the evening to heavily defended large bases.
A book on this topic is Dark Tourism (Tourism, Leisure & Recreation)
by Malcolm Foley and John Lennon. The authors explore the idea that people are attracted to regions and sites where "inhuman acts" have occurred. They claim that motivation is driven by media coverage and a desire to see for themselves, and that there is a symbiotic
Symbiosis
Symbiosis is close and often long-term interaction between different biological species. In 1877 Bennett used the word symbiosis to describe the mutualistic relationship in lichens...
relationship between the attraction and the visitor, whether it be a death camp or site of a celebrity's death. Much of their focus is on ancient sites where "acts of inhumanity are celebrated as heritage sites in Britain (for example, the Tower of London
Tower of London
Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...
, Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle
Edinburgh Castle is a fortress which dominates the skyline of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, from its position atop the volcanic Castle Rock. Human habitation of the site is dated back as far as the 9th century BC, although the nature of early settlement is unclear...
) and the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
"
War tourism is also confused with "Battlefield tourism": the visiting of sites which have a relevance to historic battles, such as the German WW2 fortification, the Atlantic Wall
Atlantic Wall
The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the western coast of Europe as a defense against an anticipated Allied invasion of the mainland continent from Great Britain.-History:On March 23, 1942 Führer Directive Number 40...
or the Maginot Line
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line , named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, was a line of concrete fortifications, tank obstacles, artillery casemates, machine gun posts, and other defences, which France constructed along its borders with Germany and Italy, in light of its experience in World War I,...
in France.
External links
- http://www.battlefieldsww2.com - Remnants from second world war in Europe
- “Art project about tourism to Afghanistan by Lukas Birk & Sean Foley”
- “War Tourist project by visual artist Emanuel Licha”
- “Most Dangerous Destinations 2006” – Forbes.com
- For the tourist who is interested in fortifications in Denmark and Norway (English)
- "Tourists flock to Bosnia war tours", BBC NewsBBC NewsBBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, 2004-06-11. - "War tourists fight to see Bosnia's past" Christian Science Monitor, 2006-02-16.
- "Is there much to Vietnam beyond war tourism?" Times Online, 2006-12-11.
- "War tourism in Poland", Times Online, 2007-06-14.