Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore why tourists continue to visit troubled and often violent nations, even when there is perceived risk. Tourism and terrorism reflect very different philosophies, but there are also some disturbing commonalities. Both need modern technology to be effective, both rely heavily on media management and both require the manipulation of perceptions and attitudes. Design/methodology/approach – The paper uses historical evidence to examine the rise and fall in world travel and tourism demand related to acts of terrorism. Findings – The paper observes that the Caribbean experienced a 13.5 percent decline in US visitors after the 9/11 terrorist attack in the USA and this led to the temporary loss of an estimated 365,000 jobs. Practical implications – The paper considers the fact that Jamaica suffers the equivalent of one 9/11 incident each week in terms of the percentage of the population killed by organized crime and gangs. It concludes that crime does not have the same effect as terrorism in terms of deterring tourists and that tourists demonstrate a willingness to visit countries where security risks are significantly higher than in their home country. Originality/value – The paper compares and contrasts the experience of 9/11 in New York with two bombings in Buenos Aires, and shows the remarkable extent to which even the experience of something as shocking as a terrorist attack is mediated through cultural values.

We live in a society that is bombarded by news of accidents, disasters and terrorist attacks. We are obsessed by the presence of death. It is commodified in newspapers, the media, entertainment and in our cultural consumption. This book explores the notion of an emergent class of “death-seekers” who consume the spectacle of the disaster, exploring spaces of mass death and suffering. Sites that are obliterated by disasters or tragic events are recycled and visually consumed by an international audience, creating a death-seekers economy. The quest for the suffering of others allows for a much deeper reinterpretation of life, and has captivated the attention of many tourists, visiting sites such as concentration camps, disasters zones, abandoned prisons, and areas hit by terrorism. This book explores the notion of the death-seekers economy, drawing on the premise that the society of risk as imagined by postmodern sociology sets the pace to a new society: thana-capitalism. The chapters dissect our fascination with other’s suffering, what this means for our own perceptions of the self, and as a tourist activity. It also explores the notion of an economy of impotence, where citizens feel the world is out of control. This compelling book will be interest to students and scholars researching dark tourism, tourist behaviour, disaster studies, cultural studies and sociology.

In spite of all technological advances in favor of humankind to promote travel, people are experiencing an increasing fear of travelling or flying. Most likely, the events of September 11, 2001, not only increased the risk perception but also brought to attention the importance of security in tourism. Whatever the case may be, the present article is aimed at critically discussing the contributions and limitations of psychoanalysis as well as system psychology, risk travel perception and secure base theory. Paradoxically, in a context wherein more people make use of mass means of transport, a considerable number of travelers feel a major discomfort because of security issues. Of course, progress and development in the last few years have converged on the idea that even if the fear of travelling could be studied regardless of time and country, evidence suggests that, in western Societies, these kinds of psychological attitudes have spread pandemically. Under these circumstances, it is important to discuss the contributions and problems that current theories demonstrates in applied research.

After returning home from fieldwork on the Guarani reservation in Misiones, Argentina, the author was approached by one of his colleagues and asked about the difference between ethnography and ethnic tourism. The immediate response was, what do you mean by ‘ethnic tourism’? After a moment of silence, he responded that, to him, ethnic tourism meant people traveling to interact with indigenous people and experience their lifestyles and customs. This thought process brought about the interest in writing this reflective research note. This short opinion piece teases out the importance of aboriginal peoples and their culture as heritage attractions and proposes the role of anthropology in creating conditions of neo-colonialism in the tourism context.

This study explores the ways in which the post-‘9/11’ film industry employs tourism as a plot that re-creates mythical imageries of the ‘West’ in relation to a radical ‘other’. Reflecting on sociological and psychological concepts of ‘vulnerability’ and ‘risk’, the authors undertake a content analysis of four ‘horror’ or ‘terror’ films and reveal complex discourses linked to nationalist sentiment, political ideology, the power of expertise and public insecurity in the post-‘9/11’ USA. One interesting feature of the current horror-movie genre is the extent of violence and sadism exerted on Western tourists going abroad. Drawing on the image of the tourist as victim, the authors further discuss the tensions between mobility, hospitality and hostility, not only as a means to create cinematic suspense, but as underlying expressions of insecurity in the currently unstable global settings.

Post-conflict destinations can struggle to attract visitors because of their negative image. Research addressing this remains limited. The same can be said about the education of tourists. This research paper contributes to the literature in both areas as it examines the proposition that the education of tourists at a pre-visit stage using online, game-based material could be effective in challenging the negative perception of these destinations. From a destination management point of view, this paper offers an alternative to existing promotional material as there is little evidence at the moment that existing strategies are effective. From a conceptual point of view, this paper contributes to the very limited academic research in Gamification by adding the fact that Gamification can be a very efficient tryvertising tool if using subtle and implicit marketing elements.