CHAPTER 1 - Introduction

A.    Background of the Study

Traveling presents numerous benefits that can last for a lifetime. It can help strengthen a person’s independence and confidence by discovering things that can only be discovered when you travel to foreign countries. Aside from finding inner peace, tranquility, recreation, enjoyment, health and fitness in traveling, one important factor that is gained through traveling is education. Discovering and experiencing the world as it really stands are far better approaches to learning than reading about places in a textbook. By traveling, the World is your teacher and it's the most reliable source anyone could hope for. Which is why many consider it as the best form of education.

 Infact, according to an article entitled "Educational Reasons to Travel" by Nina Makofsky, numerous type of knowledge could be gain by traveling. The first one is geography. Nothing reinforces the abstract concepts of geography and cartography better than traveling. It will also develop a person’s sense of direction and time. Second is culture. The primary educational reason many people travel is to learn about other cultures. Traveling abroad can illuminate cultural differences even further, and bring home concepts. Such concepts like the Japanese preferring shoes to be removed indoors, the Mexicans disliking saying no to any request, the Chinese believing red to be lucky and the French always greeting people upon entering a shop or a small restaurant. The third one is language. Learning a foreign language is one of the more challenging educational reasons to travel. Many people travel for this purpose. Most travelers learn language through conversing with locals, that way, they can not only practice the language itself but the diction and accent as well. The fourth and last one is history. Traveling can illuminate the multiple perspectives of a place's history.

Makofsky also stated that “Inside the classroom, we can read, listen, write and talk about different topics or see them on pictures where we are able to use our imagination; and only our imagination sets the limit” (http://traveltips.usatoday.com/educational-benefits-travel-1901.html)

More and more people realize the importance of traveling; Education being the most important. There’s also the matter of traveling expenses being relatively cheap nowadays that it has become easier for everyone to travel. According to an article entitled “Tourism Industry Grows to New Heights”, a study conducted by Tourism Economics, an Oxford company that researches the economic impacts of tourism, tourism economy expanded 6.2 percent last year alone. In 2011 the state tourism economy grew 8.3 percent. Tourist spending in 2012 also grew to new heights — $57.3 billion — and has grown 5 percent each year since 2003.

 In the article the author, Jose Serano stated that “The number of travelers and tourists is continuously increasing. The increases of travelers appear to be the result of economic improvement of most countries in the past couple of years.”  (Http://www.ocala.com/article/20136223/ARTICLES/135229065)

Due to the increasing amount of travelers, there’s also a demand for diversity of tourism practices. Regular tourists activities and attractions have become too mainstream and just aren’t sufficient for the needs of the tourist. Their taste for adventure has taken a huge turn.

Tourists aren’t the only ones whose demands are increasing; there are so many places in the world today that rely heavily on tourism as a key source of income and employment. Tourism also help boosts the economy of a country. It can provide an incentive for investment in infrastructure such as roads and rail networks, as well as funding local medical and education facilities.

Betty Little, chair of the US’ Cultural Affairs, Tourism, Parks and Recreation Committee, said that the growth in the state's tourism industry is "good for the economy and state revenue growth, but especially good news for the thousands of small, 'mom and pop' businesses dependent upon this kind of activity." (Http://www.ocala.com/article/20136223/ARTICLES/135229065)

The increased competition for tourists has led to a new tourist trend called dark tourism. One of which is Slum Tourism. Slum Tourism is a tourist practice wherein travelers visit poor areas (mostly slums) to observe the local inhabitant's way of living. This type of practice started in the late 1800s; Wealthy New Yorkers would visit the Lower East Side to observe how the people from the poorest side of the city live. Nowadays, more and more people get curious of a slum lifestyle; thanks to movies such as Slumdog Millionaire and Fast5, organized slum tours exist in many parts of the World such as Rio de Jenero, Mumbai, Egyt, Mexico, Johannesburg and recently, joining a long list slum capitals, the Philippines.

 In an article entitled "Slum tourism: Patronizing or social enlightenment?" an interview with Mr. Krishna Pujari, owner of Reality Tours and Travels, states that the purpose of Slum Tourism is for the people who think slums are just about poverty, danger or begging. For them to see that these places aren't just a place full of misery, but are vibrant communities that know how to deal with their problems.

Mr. Pujari said “Slum tours increase awareness of poverty issues, making it more real rather than just seeing it on television or reading about it in books and magazines. Many tourists often come to put their life into perspective and experience world problems first hand. It is also a chance to see how these people struggle with their day-to-day lives.” (http://ezinearticles.com/?Slum-Tours:-Good-or-Bad?&!d=9123652)

However, the idea of dark tourism raises some ethical concerns. The researcher believes that dark tourism should be discouraged. For it is that a practice that is actually insulting and degrading to the local community and even more bluntly creates a situation wherein one person thinks that they are inherently better than the other.

The information in this paper is important, because knowledge about dark tourism will provide the reader to grasp the overall concept of said tourism practice and will raise awareness to the people.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the reasons why dark tourism should be discouraged. 


B.    Statement of the Problem

This study aims to answer this question:

1.    Why should dark tourism be discouraged?

C.   Significance of the Study

Tourists/Travelers – tourists/travelers should know what the effects of the practice of dark tourism have to the local community in order to raise awareness.

Businessmen – businessmen established most of these ‘dark tourism’ attractions unknowingly. This research paper would help these businessmen clearly understand the concept of dark tourism and would be able to identify if their attractions are part of that category.

Economists – Economists would benefit in this study because tourism directly impacts a country’s gross domestic product or GDP.

Psychologists – Tourists behavior is also a big factor in this study. Therefore, people who studies psychology would be able to read and analyze human behavior in a certain aspect such as traveling.

D.   Scope and Delimitations            

Due to time constraints, this study will no longer deal with the study of tourism as a whole. This paper, however, will review behavior and demand responses of tourists’ to dark tourism attractions as well as the impact of said attractions to the local community. Furthermore, this paper will also highlight the main problems that occur within this sector of tourism.

                                                                                               

E.    Materials and Methods

The materials used for this research was gathered from books, academically reviewed journals, on-line factual reports, newspapers and the Internet. All this sources can justify the point of view of an author and provide relevant information about the research project. The sources of this research came from existing studies in tourism, human behavior and economics.

The researcher was able to interrelate all aspects and will therefore us it as reference to justify why dark tourism should be discouraged.

F. Definition of Terms

1. Dark Tourism - is all about traveling to places that were once (or still are) associated with pain, suffering, horrible living conditions, natural and manmade disasters or death. (SOURCE: http://www.vacationideas.me/travel-tips/thanatourism-definition-dark-tourism/)

2. Perceptions: immediate or intuitive recognition or appreciation, as of moral, psychological, or aesthetic qualities; insight; intuition; discernment: an artist of rare perception.  (SOURCE: http://dictionary.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0SO8w

3. Slum - A heavily populated urban area characterized by substandard housing and squalor. Often used in the plural. (SOURCE: http://dictionary.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt)

4. Slumming: To visit impoverished areas or squalid locales, especially out of curiosity or for amusement. (SOURCE: http://dictionary.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt)

5. Travel Motivation: something or someone that motivates a person to travel. (http://dictionary.search.yahoo.com/search;_ylt=A0S05y)