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VIII
2.3.6 Dark Conflict Sites ... 13
2.3.7 Dark Camps of Genocide ... 14
2.4 The Motivations of Dark Tourism ... 14
2.4.1 Strategies used in promoting/marketing dark tourism ... 16
2.4.2 Challenges in marketing/ promoting dark tourism ... 17
2.5.1 Dark Tourism in Rwanda ... 19
2.6 Chapter Two Summary ... 20
CHAPTER THREE ... 22
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ... 22
3.1 Research Design... 22
3.3 Study population ... 22
3.4 Sample size ... 22
3.5 Sampling procedure ... 23
3.6 Data Collection Instruments ... 23
3.8 Data Management and Analysis ... 24
3.8.1 Qualitative analysis ... 24
CHAPTER FOUR ... 26
DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENATATION ... 26
4.0 Introduction ... 26
4.1 Background information of respondents ... 26
CHAPTER FIVE ... 38
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ... 38
5.1 Summary of Findings ... 38
5.2 Conclusions ... 39
5.3 Recommendations ... 40
REFERENCES ... 42
APENDIX A: Letter addressing the intention of the research to respondents ... 46
APENDIX B : Questionnaire ... 47
QUESTIONNAIRE ... 47
IX
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS, ACRONYMS
ASCE: Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe
FARG: Fonds d'Assistance pour les Rescapés du Génocide / National Assistance Funds for
Needy Survivors of Genocide
Mr. Mister
NCRM: National Civil Rights Museum
RDB: Rwanda Development Board
Reg No: Registration number
RTUC: Rwanda Tourism University College
U.K: United Kingdom
UAS: United Arab States
US: United States
WTO: World Tourism Organization
X
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Dark tourism products and place ... 29
Table 2: Less effective information dissemination ... 30
Table 3: High cost charged to tourists ... 31
Table 4: Insufficient tourist facilities ... 31
Table 5: Negative perception and publicity ... 32
Table 6: Lack of skilled staff ... 32
Table 7: Infrastructures not being of the required level ... 33
Table 8: Other challenges ... 33
Table 9: Improve marketing strategies ... 34
Table 10: Training of staff and service providers ... 34
Table 11: Networking and partnership with other stakeholders ... 35
Table 12: Encouraging local population in Rwanda to visit dark tourism sites ... 35
Table 13: Improve the variety and accessibility of dark tourism attractions ... 36
Table 14: Other measures ... 36
XI
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1: Gender of respondents ... 26
Figure 2: Category of respondent ... 27
Figure 3: Duration of service in the tourism industry ... 28
XII
ABSTRACT
The study sought to assess the challenges of promoting dark tourism in Rwanda. The study was
guided by three objectives: To find out the dark tourism products in Rwanda; to investigate the
challenges of promoting dark tourism in Rwanda and to establish measures that could be adopted
to promote dark tourism in Rwanda. To achieve the set objectives, the study used a sample of 43
respondents randomly selected from staff of Rwanda Development Board (RDB),
museum/memorial site managers and tour operators. Data was collected by use of questionnaire
instrument and summarized in tables and graphs following the objectives of the study and
frequencies and percentages were calculated based on the data available. The findings indicated
that there are various dark tourism products in Rwanda which included Kigali memorial center,
Bisesero, Gatwaro Stadium and Gitesi memorial site. Less effective information dissemination,
High cost charged to tourists and Lack of skilled staff are the challenges affecting the promotion
of dark tourism. Measures that could be adopted to promote dark tourism in Rwanda are
Improving marketing strategies, Training of staff and service providers and improving the
variety and accessibility of dark tourism attractions. The study concluded by noting that
Identifying the successful practices in management, branding, marketing, and pricing strategies
of dark tourism attractions around the world can aid in applying these ideas towards improving
the dark tourism industry in Rwanda. The study recommended that since we are living in a
global world, using the mass media advertisements, specifically TV, Newspapers or other
tourism information brochures is significantly important in attracting more dark tourists.
Key word
Tourism
Dark
1
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.1 Introduction
This chapter introduces the study by giving the background information, statement of the
problem, purpose and objective of the study, research questions, significance and scope of the
study and finally organization of the study.
1.2 Background to the study
The notion of tourism in general is rather broad. There are numerous types of tourism that are
aimed on fulfillment of different customers' needs. Tourism and traveling have become not only
a means of satisfaction of spiritual wants, but also most people's life style (Amabile, 2005). For
ages people from all over the world were interested in destinations connected with death and
suffering of the olds. These places have been attracting people from everywhere long since by
the tragic history or shadowy past. Tours devoted to visits of the most tragically places on the
planet are becoming more and more popular among tourists from all over the world. For that
reason, the notion of dark tourism is becoming more popular among demanding customers. Dark
tourism is the act of traveling and visiting sites, attractions and exhibitions which have real or
recreated death suffering or the seemingly macabre as the main theme (Stone, 2005). Similarly,
Foley and Lennon (1997), whilst adding a chronological element, define dark tourism as the
visitation to any site associated with death, disaster and tragedy in the twentieth century for
remembrance, education or entertainment. Meanwhile, Tarlow acknowledges historical
dimensions and identifies dark tourism as visitations to places where tragedies or historically
noteworthy death has occurred and that continue to impact our lives (Tarlow, (2005).
Deaths, disasters and atrocities in touristic form are becoming an increasingly pervasive feature
within the contemporary visitor economy. For the individual who wishes to journey and gaze
upon real or recreated death, a plethora of sites, attractions and exhibitions are now emerging
across the world to cater to the darker side of travel (Sharpley and Stone, 2009). Indeed,
seemingly morbid practices within tourism vary from people gazing upon sites of brutality at
former World War One battlefields of northern France, to visitors purchasing souvenirs of
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atrocity at Ground Zero, to tourists sightseeing in the ruins of New Orleans (after Hurricane
Katrina), or excursionists touring sites of genocide and tragedy such as Auschwitz-Birkenau or
the Killing Fields of Cambodia. Consequently, the phenomenon by which people visit,
purposefully or as part of a broader recreational itinerary, the diverse range of sites, attractions
and exhibitions that offer a (re)presentation of death and human suffering is ostensibly growing
within contemporary society. As a result, the rather emotive label of dark tourism, and its
scholarly sister term of than tourism, has entered academic discourse and media parlance Seaton,
1996)
Indeed for many years, humans have been attracted to sites and events that are associated with
death, disaster, suffering, violence and killing. From ancient Rome and gladiatorial combat to
attendance at public executions, sites of death have held a voyeuristic appeal. Dark tourism has
entered the mainstream and is a popular subject of media attention. More importantly it is used
as a marketing term on sites such as http://thecabinet.com where the category of dark
destinations has been in use since 2006. The appeal of a range of global destinations associated
with dark acts shows no signs of abatement. Most recently the enduring appeal has been
reinforced in New York, Paris and beyond. The ground zero site now attracts a significantly
greater number of visitors since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 (Blair, 2002). In Paris,
the death site of Diana, princess of Wales evidenced pilgrimages and visitation following her
death and the site of her burial place Althorpe achieved significant visitations for the three years
following her death. In Africa, sites in Angola, South Africa, Sierra Leon, and Rwanda have all
demonstrated the appeal of dark histories to visitors (Rowe, 2007).
A basic analysis of Rwanda's history shows that there are a number of death related visitor sites
or attractions, Rucunshu war grounds, Musanze cave and Rwandan president Juvénal
Habyarimana airplane crash at Kanombe are typical dark tourist sites in Rwanda, which are also
well known in the world. As anywhere in Africa, pre-colonial Rwanda was not exempt from
social unrest and violence. Bernard Lugan talks of revolutions, conquest, and succession wars in
Rwanda before colonization, each with its lot of victims. Indeed, just one year before the
Germans entered the country in 1897, the king Mibambwe IV Rutalindwa had been assassinated
in a bloody coup (1896) and replaced by one of his half-brothers, king Musinga. War of
succession known as the Rucunshu war (1896-1897) between king Musinga faction and
Rutarindwa faction was so destructive and symbols of that bloody battle are still visible at
3
Rukaza hill. Musanze cave lies in the grounds about 2km from the town center off the Gisenyi
road. The main cave reportedly 2km long has an entrance the size of a cathedral. Legend has it
that Musanze cave was created by a local king and that it has been used as a refuge on several
occasions in history whereas during the 1994 Massacre it was used as a killing site and recently
the place is still littered with human remains. The airplane carrying Rwandan president Juvénal
Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprian Ntaryamira was shot down as it prepared to land
in Kigali, Rwanda. The assassination set in motion some of the bloodiest events of the late 20th
century, the Rwandan Genocide and the First Congo War. (Prunier, G. 1995)
1.3 Statement of the Problem
The tourism industry is one of the world's fastest growing industries with estimated growth in
global travel expanding from 450 million travelers in 1992 to 730 million by the year 2010
(World Tourism Organization, 2006). In the recent world Economic Forum Travel and Tourism
Competitive Index, Rwanda is ranked 7
th
for sub Saharan Africa ahead of its more established
East Africa neighbors Kenya and Tanzania. Tourism continues to perform way above average for
Rwanda's economy, with a reported 11 percent rise in revenues generated for the first six months
of 2012, up from the previous year by nearly 13 million US Dollars to 128.3 million US Dollars
(RDB, 2012). Although the tourism industry in Rwanda is the fasting growing, it is surprisingly
to note that the country's tourism initiatives currently attract specific tourists, particularly eco-
tourists who are drawn to the country's natural attractions, especially the world-famous mountain
gorillas. Despite an increasing number of tourists traveling to places of horrific human
catastrophe, for example nearly a million tourists visited the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum in
2005, up from half that the year before, this has not be the case in Rwanda, few tourists are
attracted to the dark tourism attractions in Rwanda like genocide memorial sites. There this study
intends to assess the challenges of promoting dark tourism in Rwanda.
4
1.4 Purpose of the study
The purpose of this study was to assess the challenges of promoting dark tourism in Rwanda.
1.4.1 Objectives of the study
a)
To find out the dark tourism products in Rwanda.
b)
To investigate the challenges of promoting dark tourism in Rwanda.
c)
To establish measures that could be adopted to promote dark tourism in Rwanda.
1.4.2 Research questions
a)
What are the dark tourism products in Rwanda?
b)
What are the challenges of promoting dark tourism in Rwanda?
c)
What are the measures that could be adopted to promote dark tourism in Rwanda?
1.5 Scope of the study
Geographical scope
The study was conducted in Rwanda
Content Scope
The study focused on the challenges of promoting dark tourism in Rwanda.
1.6 Significance of the study
The following disciplines could benefit from the findings of the study:
- Dark tourism is a special type of tourism business which does not appeal to everyone but has an
important role in delivering information and bringing the past to present. Therefore this study
would help the government of Rwanda, tourism planners, managers, promoters and advocators to
figure out the potential dark tourism market needs and advancements define target groups and
implement conductive market penetration strategies.
- The study would be useful for future researchers interested in carrying out research in the field
concerned with tourism that is why a copy would be handed over in the library.
5
- Finally, the study would be of great importance to the researcher due to the broad knowledge
and understanding that would be achieved from the research especially in the field of Tourism
management and development.
The research would also be able to fulfil some of the requirements for the award of bachelor's
degree in travel and tourism management
1.7 Structure of the dissertation
The research project composed of five sections: Chapter 1 introduced the study by giving the
background information of the study, research problem, objectives, significance, scope and
structure of the study. Chapter 2 will cover the literature review. Chapter 3 concentrated on
discussing the research methodology adopted for the study and relevant justifications. It outlined
the methodology for carrying out the secondary and primary data collections and how results
were analyzed. Chapter 4 dealt with data analysis, interpretation of the result, in this chapter, the
researcher analyzed and interpreted the data in order to fulfill the objectives of the study and
presented the data pertaining to the problem. The final chapter formed the discussion, conclusion
and gave recommendations as to the next steps needed to help transform Rwanda's dark tourism
industry.
6
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
In this section the researcher described and explained the concepts and theories that are relevant
in the field of dark tourism in order to give a comprehensive analysis and understanding of the
research topic.
2.1 Definition and explanation of key terms
2.1.1 Tourism
Generally, there are several common assumptions about tourism. Mathieson and Wall define
tourism as: the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of
work and residence, the activities undertaken during their stay in those destinations and the
facilities created to care to their need (Mathieson and Wall 1982). Similarly, for Buckart and
Medlik, tourism denotes the temporary short term movement of people to destinations outside
the places where they normally live (Buckart and Medlik, 1974). The geographers Shaw and
Williams adopted the formal definition by international organizations, such as the World
Tourism Office, that tourism includes all travel that involves a stay of at least one night, but less
than one year, away from home (Shaw and Williams, 1994). This definition pointed out that the
purpose of traveling may include visiting friends and relatives, or working on a business trip. In
the lecture of Business Tourism and Travel Management Course in Savonia UAS, Kuopio,
Finalnd, the definition of tourism was shown as temporal short term movement of people to
destination outside the places where they normally live and work, and activities during their stay
at these destinations; it includes movement for all purposes, as well as day visits and excursions.
(Verhela, 2011)
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2.1.2 Dark Tourism
Dark Tourism is also called as black tourism or grief tourism which is not a very new activity or
phenomenon in nowadays tourism market, including castles and battle fields, sites of natural or
manmade disaster and the prisons that open to public. The term of dark tourism was first coined
by two researchers, Malcolm Foley and J. John Lennon, as a means of describing, the
phenomenon which encompasses the presentation and consumption (by visitors) of real and
commoditized death and disaster sites (Foley and Lennon 1996). A large number of sites
associated with war, genocide, assassination and other tragic events have become significant
tourist destinations, Lennon and Foley call this phenomenon dark tourism (Lennon and Foley
2000). The authors even refine this definition further by noting the actions which do and do not
consist of dark tourism. For example, the behavior of friends and families visiting the dark
tourism sites cannot be categorized as dark tourism. In their book, Lennon and Foley define dark
tourism referring to events that have occurred in recent times, which force the visitor to question
modernity. Lennon and Foley see dark tourism as the commoditization of anxiety and doubt.
(Lennon and Foley, 2002
The University of Central Lancashire undertook the academic
research into dark tourism. They say: Dark tourism is the act of travel and visitation to sites,
attractions and exhibitions which have real or recreated death, suffering or the seemingly
macabre as a main theme.
Kendle, 2006). From The Baltic Times, they say: Dark tourism is a
different type of tourist attraction; it is the act of travel and visitation to sites of death, disaster
and the seemingly macabre. Tourists flock to experience sites of past terror that offer up grim
and disturbing tragedies. (Webber, 2007
2.2 Theoretical Overview of Dark Tourism
Indeed, for as long as people have been able to travel they have been drawn, purposefully or
otherwise, towards sites, attractions or events that are linked in one way or another with disaster,
suffering, violence or death (Stone, 2005). The gladiatorial games of the Roman era, pilgrimages,
or attendance at medieval public executions were for example early forms of such death related
tourism as Boorstin alleges, the first guided tour in England was a rail trip to witness the hanging
of two murderers. The tour was arranged in Cornwall in 1838 to take people of Wade bridge by
special train to the nearby town of Bodmin. There they witnessed the hanging of two murderers
8
and since the Bodmin gallows were in clear sight of the uncovered station, excursionists had
their fun without even leaving the open railway carriages (Boorstin, 1964). In the specific
context of warfare, however, Seaton (1999) observes that death, suffering and tourism have been
related for centuries (also Smith, 1998; Knox, 2006), citing tourism to the battlefield of Waterloo
from 1816 onwards as a notable nineteenth century example of what he terms than tourism.
Additionally, in the nineteenth century, visits to morgues were as McConnell (1989) notes, a
regular feature of tours of Paris perhaps a forerunner to the Body Worlds exhibitions in London,
Los Angeles, Tokyo and elsewhere that since the late 1990s have attracted visitors in their tens
of thousands (Body Worlds, 2008). Similarly, the historical precedent of visitors gazing upon the
less fortunate in society, similar to Brazilian favelas slum tours of today was set by Jack
London`s 1903 sociological treatise about the abject poverty of London at the turn of the 20th
century. In his commentary of social and political failure, The People of the Abyss`, an affluent
Edwardian descends into the slums and gazes at the underworld. (Rolfes, 2010)
As considered shortly, the extent to which dark tourism may be considered an historical
phenomenon that is applicable to sites, attractions or events that pre-date living memory remains
a subject of debate (Wight, 2006; Seaton, 2009). It is clear, however, that visitors have long been
attracted to places or events associated in one way or another with death, disaster and suffering.
Equally, there can be little doubt that, over the last half century and commensurate with the
remarkable growth in tourism more generally, dark tourism has become both widespread and
diverse. In terms of supply there has been a rapid growth in the provision of such attractions or
experiences. Indeed there appears to be an increasing number of people keen to promote or profit
from dark events as tourist attractions, such as the Pennsylvania farmer who offered a $65 per
person Flight 93 Tour to the crash site of the United Airlines Flight 93 one of the hijacked
aircraft on 9/11 (Bly, 2003; Sharpley, 2005). Moreover, dark tourism has become more widely
recognized as both a form of tourism and a promotional tool with websites, such as
www.thecabinet.com, listing numerous dark tourism sites around the world (Dark Destinations,
2007). Similarly, a recent online poll commissioned by the Czech Tourist Board sought to
discover and thus promote the top ten darkest places of interest within the Czech Republic.
(Sindelaova, 2008)
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