When we first talked about the dark side of tourism in class, I was curious about 'militourism', or war tourism, the "recreational travel to war zones for purposes of sightseeing or historical study" (Wikipedia). This type of tourism interested me because at first it seemed so opposite from my Western instincts - a dangerous war zone isn't a place I'd think a person would want to travel to, especially for recreation. But after some quick research about examples of militourism, I was able to find an interesting contemporary example in the Ukraine.
Right now, there is intense fighting across the Ukraine between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian rebel forces over the territory of Crimea. In a summer 2014 article, the controversial English tabloid magazine DailyMail published an article about unofficial tours being offered to tourists visiting parts of the war-torn country. According to the article, linked below, these tours of the Ukrainian battle zone "each last around two hours," and include a flak jacket and an armed guard (DailyMail).
Interestingly, the article reports that advertisements for the tours posted on trees offered tourists to "'Impress your friends with the ultimate selfies' or 'see where the fighting is actually taking place'" (DailyMail). In the advertisement, the hosts of the tour treat the Ukrainian conflict, of which roughly 5,000 people have died, as more of an exhibit than a site of conflict - encouraging the tourists to 'see', 'impress' etc. The article even mentions that some travelers have been "picking up souvenirs, including bullet cases and pieces of blackened rubble," an act of tourism that glorifies military weapons.
The appeal to the militourism detailed in the article seems to be at least partially based on the appeal of 'seeing', or 'witnessing'; there is something so compelling about seeing an act of history as it happens that many people are willing to sacrifice money and even safety, a principle that forms the basis for the militourism industry in the Ukraine and elsewhere. The importance of seeing reveals one way tourists from foreign countries validate themselves and their culture. By engaging in this thrilling and 'privileged' border-crossing, tourists expose themselves to a strange foreign culture that they feel affirms aspects of their familiar culture. Voyeurism, coupled with the opportunity to take part in history, is probably enough motivation for some daring tourists to visit these parts of the Ukraine.
-Marcus Dovigi
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*territory of Donbass
ReplyDeleteThe Crimea has already been thoroughly occupied by Putin's Russia. There is no military contest there at the moment.