Affective & emotional geographies of tourism in times and places of turmoil

Dark tourism — travel in places of atrocity, conflict, death and disaster — is a complex phenomenon with cultural, socio-political and economic implications at local, regional and international levels. Building on prior research in Jordan and short stays in the neighbouring West Bank, this project investigates dark tourism in areas of active or simmering socio-political conflict, based for eight months in Bethlehem across two major tourism seasons.

The aim is threefold:

• to advance a theory of critical dark tourism by combining cultural theory of affect and emotion with psychoanalytic theory;
• to examine, through tourism ethnography, how affects and emotions shape place identity in conflict-affected areas;
• to propose the psychoanalytic concepts of (counter-)transference and projection for interpreting how emotions are negotiated by tourists and local tourism stakeholders.

Findings contribute novel cross-disciplinary methodologies and a critical theoretical approach to dark tourism — strengthening the sub-field and improving the planning and development of tourism in conflict-affected areas in more sustainable ways.

A critical research agenda focused on affective and emotional engagements in times and places of turmoil, framed within tourism contexts — exploring spatial and societal transformations through tourism mobilities in places of socio-political turmoil.

Objectives:

• to introduce and increase critical attention to spatial theories of affects, emotions and senses in tourism studies;
• to increase engagement with qualitative methods;
• to tackle a diverse range of case studies, from the Middle East to western and eastern Europe;
• to contribute to social policy promoting inclusive societies that value peace and wellbeing and accept diversity and difference.