Factors affecting tourists’ emotional reactions during a visit to a dark attraction: a conceptual model

ABSTRACT

This study proposes a novel conceptual model for exploring how the interaction between first, the severity of the dark event(s) related to dark attractions, secondly, the recency of the event(s) related to the attraction, and third, the sharing of a common heritage with the event(s) related to the attraction, can affect tourists’ emotional reactions while visiting dark attractions. This study reviews the literature on the generalisability of dark attractions, as well as the current state of the art on tourists’ emotional reactions during visits to dark attractions, focusing on the effects of severity (i.e. number of deaths) and recency (i.e. number of years ago) of the dark event, as well as the sharing of a common heritage with the dark event. The proposed conceptual model differs from previous ones by focusing on a 2 × 2×2 framework, thus enabling measuring each variable’s effect on tourists’ emotional reactions. Implications for adopting and testing the proposed conceptual model are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Dark tourism
• dark attractions
• recency
• severity
• emotion
• heritage

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Abraham Pizam

Abraham Pizam is the founding dean (2000-2018) of Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida. He currently serves as Professor and Linda Chapin Eminent Scholar Chair in Tourism Management. Professor Pizam is widely recognized in the field of Hospitality and Tourism Management and has conducted research projects, lectured, and served as a consultant in over 30 countries. He has held various academic positions in Austria, Australia, France, Israel, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Slovakia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the U.S.A. Professor Pizam has authored more than 250 publications, including 180 scientific articles and ten books. His publications have received over 20,000 citations, and he has an h-index of 66. Additionally, he holds the esteemed position of Editor Emeritus of the International Journal of Hospitality Management and serves on the editorial boards of 26 academic journals. Professor Pizam has undertaken consulting and research projects for various international, national, and regional tourism organizations. He earned a master’s degree from New York University and a Ph.D. from Cornell University and has received several academic awards for his contributions to the field.

Marcos Medeiros

Marcos Medeiros is a Ph.D. student at the Rosen College of Hospitality Management at the University of Central Florida. He holds the position of Graduate Research and Teaching Associate and is currently engaged in research projects related to Hospitality Finance, Real Estate, Travel Technology, and Financial Behavior. Combining his former investment banking experience with his academic interests, Mr. Medeiros is dedicated to pursuing his doctoral degree. He boasts over 25 years of industry experience, having worked in the wholesale and corporate banking divisions of international banks in various countries, including Brazil, Spain, France, and the USA. Mr. Medeiros obtained a master’s in science degree from the Rosen College of Hospitality Management in Orlando, USA, and also holds a master’s in business administration from the IE Business School in Madrid, Spain.

Villy Abraham

Dr. Villy Abraham holds a DBA in International Marketing and Consumer Behavior from Manchester Business School (2012). Dr. Abraham is the Department Chairperson at the Technology Marketing Department at Sapir Academic College. Dr. Abraham's research interests include consumer animosity, tourist behavior, conspicuous consumption, and dark tourism. Dr. Abraham's work has been published in leading journals such as Tourism Management, International Marketing Review, and Tourism Review. Additionally, Dr. Abraham serves as an ad-hoc reviewer for Tourism Review, Current Issues in Tourism, International Journal of Consumer Studies, International Marketing Review, and International Business Review.