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Wayanad Landslides:  Kerala, God's Own Country, is mainly visited for its peaceful and tranquil surroundings. Abundant verdant hills that softly slope towards the horizon are adorned with luscious tea plantations and waterfalls that fall from rocky peaks. However, the state, which frequently promotes its tourist sites, have issued a unique warning after the recent horrific landslide in Wayanad that claimed over 300 lives and left several missing.

The warning also sheds light on a new concept: Dark Tourism.

As the death toll continues to increase and rescue operations are ongoing, The Kerala Police have requested people to 'stay away' and abstain from 'dark tourism'.

On July 30, the Kerala Police took to their official X handle and wrote, “Please don't go to disaster areas for sightseeing. It will affect rescue operations Call 112 for assistance”.

Having said that, let us gain a deep insight into this new concept that is trending after the Wayanad landslides and why the Kerala Police is urging people to avoid it.

What Is Dark Tourism?

The Washington Post decodes Dark Tourism as a visit to locations where "some of the darkest events of human history have unfolded," including as "genocide, assassination, incarceration, ethnic cleansing, war or disaster — either natural or accidental." The term is also sometimes known as 'Thanatourism'.

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Who Coined The Term Dark Tourism?

J John Lennon, a Glasgow Caledonian University tourism lecturer, and Malcolm Foley are credited to have coined the term "Dark Tourism" in 1996. In the 1990s, dark tourism was first proposed in the UK and quickly expanded throughout Europe.

Is It A New Phenomenon?

Lenon explained in a 2017 paper, In a 2017 paper, Lennon explained, “For many years humans have been attracted to sites and events that are associated with death, disaster, suffering, violence and killing.” According to him, it is not a new phenomenon. He said, “From ancient Rome and gladiatorial combat to attendance at public executions in London and other major cities of the world, death has held an appeal.”

He asserted that, there is proof that dark tourism is an old phenomenon which goes back to "the Battle of Waterloo where people watched from their carriages the battle taking place." The most well-known location for dark tourism is the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland; the reason behind this tourism site is the belief that the atrocities committed by the Nazis during World War II should never be repeated.

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Why Dark Tourism Is Trending Now?

In India, people travel to places connected to sorrow or misery, such as Kuldhara near Jaisalmer and Uttarakhand's Roopkund Lake. Recently, people have been traveling to crime and disaster sites in Kerala to see such firsthand. Many individuals have died as a consequence of a cloudburst that washed away buildings and trapped people.

Chooral Mala, Mundakkai Town, and Meppani were the locations of the initial landslide. Additionally, a nearby bridge that led to Attamala in Mundakkai fell. Approximately 150 individuals died. People wanting to see this site of horror and death is part of dark tourism.