Differential roles of push and pull factors on escape for travel: Personal and social identity perspectives

© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd This study examines the effects of push and pull motivations linked to an individual\u27s personal and social identities as key antecedents to escape for travel. In terms of push factors, escape for travel is driven from a personal identity perspective by the need for evaluation of self and regression and from a social identity perspective by the need for social interaction but not enhancement of kinship. Cultural motives that reflect personal identity positively influence escape for travel than destination pull factors linked to social identity. Overall, the study contributes to the existing knowledge on push and pull tourist motivations

Young tourists’ experiences at dark tourism sites: Towards a conceptual framework

While dark tourism aimed at adults reminds them of past tragic fights, faults and follies, thousands of children and youth also consume inherent memorial messages at dark tourism sites. This paper addresses these unnoticed childhood encounters, about which scholarly discourse remains conspicuously silent. At present, dark tourism research focuses almost exclusively on adults and does not adequately explain young tourists’ experiences. How children experience dark tourism sites has much to do with their understanding of death. Because younger children may not possess an adult-like knowledge of death, they are unable to experience a site as dark. Other theoretical disparities include children’s limited agency in choosing their destinations and their unique and often playful exploration of dark places. To address the inadequacy of current dark tourism conceptualisations, we propose a new framework to encourage scholarly interrogation of children’s experiences at dark tourism sites. Drawing from multiple sources including archival studies and original research with youth, we offer a rationale for considering four major, intersecting influences on a young tourist’s experience: understanding of death, visit preparation (at home or in school), site and interpretation features and dynamics of the specific visit (e.g. group membership, norms and itinerary). Ultimately, this paper uncovers potential research avenues to bring children’s perspectives and experiences to the core of dark tourism research

Reflections of Battlefield Tourist Experiences Associated With Vietnam War Sites: an Analysis of Travel Blogs

The aim of this paper is to analyse online travel blogs in order to gain an understanding of the reflections held by battlefield tourists in Vietnam. A qualitative approach utilising thematic analysis was conducted on 20 travel blogs. The findings suggest that tourists can have a deeply reflective experience at sites of past warfare, which includes cognitive dissonance to the war narrative. Tourist experiences in Vietnam presented a connection to the dead (mortality mediation), and a connection to the living (local people). These outcomes led to the overall understanding of battlefield experiences in Vietnam: The meaning of life and humanity through connecting with people, and the passing of time through the writing of history