Dark Tourism in Ukraine. Case: Chernobyl.
Vu, Min Dyk (2021)
Vu, Min Dyk
2021
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021120924782
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2021120924782
Tiivistelmä
While the term "dark tourism" is getting more popular with every year, it still remains an underdeveloped part of the tourism industry that lacks investments in order to reveal its hidden potential. Therefore, a thorough analysis and an efficient development plan for dark destinations is an essential step towards increasing the number of tourists interested in dark tourism.
This thesis is a qualitative research, made using secondary data, blogs, forums and other Internet materials about Chernobyl and dark tourism, and is aimed at analyzing the dark tourism site – The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone with theories and concepts from previous researches in order to provide development suggestions based on the gathered data. The type of the dark tourist destination is determined by analyzing the site according to Stone’s dark tourism spectrum, and ‘spectrum of supply’. The purpose of the research was to outline the definition of dark tourism and to analyze Exclusion zone of Chernobyl as a dark tourism destination. The site is located in the north of Ukraine, 70 miles (110km) north of Ukraine’s capital Kiev and is known as the worst nuclear catastrophe in the world.
The research findings reveal that the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is an attractive dark tourist destination, which can potentially become more successful in due time, depending on the usage of marketing strategies and the level of governmental support provided in the development of the site. Categorization of the dark tourism site allows to see the “real” value of the destination, as well as to determine the most suitable target market, which will help to maximize profits and minimize loses.
The thesis aims to be a guiding book for tourism businesses who might be interested in investing in Chernobyl tourism industry as well as to give suggestions on how to develop the infrastructure of the area to make it a more attractive product for the customers. It is a good contribution to the development of Chernobyl as the dark tourism destination.
This thesis is a qualitative research, made using secondary data, blogs, forums and other Internet materials about Chernobyl and dark tourism, and is aimed at analyzing the dark tourism site – The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone with theories and concepts from previous researches in order to provide development suggestions based on the gathered data. The type of the dark tourist destination is determined by analyzing the site according to Stone’s dark tourism spectrum, and ‘spectrum of supply’. The purpose of the research was to outline the definition of dark tourism and to analyze Exclusion zone of Chernobyl as a dark tourism destination. The site is located in the north of Ukraine, 70 miles (110km) north of Ukraine’s capital Kiev and is known as the worst nuclear catastrophe in the world.
The research findings reveal that the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone is an attractive dark tourist destination, which can potentially become more successful in due time, depending on the usage of marketing strategies and the level of governmental support provided in the development of the site. Categorization of the dark tourism site allows to see the “real” value of the destination, as well as to determine the most suitable target market, which will help to maximize profits and minimize loses.
The thesis aims to be a guiding book for tourism businesses who might be interested in investing in Chernobyl tourism industry as well as to give suggestions on how to develop the infrastructure of the area to make it a more attractive product for the customers. It is a good contribution to the development of Chernobyl as the dark tourism destination.