Inside ‘dark tourism’ – the new trend for the wealthy vacationing in high travel advisory areas

Afghanistan, Iraq and Sierra Leone in West Africa do not spring to mind when most Australians plan an overseas holiday.

In fact, the Australian government strongly advises against traveling to the first two.

But NSW travel agent David Smyth says there is a “strange and unexpected” growing trend among wealthy, well-travelled and older people who want to visit these places.

Mr Smyth’s company Forward Travel has always specialized in tailor-made itineraries for unique off-the-beaten-track destinations such as polar expeditions and remote Patagonia treks, but only launched offerings in Afghanistan, Iraq and West Africa about 12 months ago.

It came after Mr Smyth noticed tourists sharing photos there on social media, inspiring him to meet representatives from these countries at ITB, the world’s leading travel trade show in Berlin, Germany.

He was then invited to go and see Iraq for himself.

“Iraq was a step for me. I’m hitting 100 places and I can honestly say they were the friendliest, most welcoming people,” Mr Smyth said.

“They are very happy that Westerners want to visit their country and not invade it or steal their facilities.

“I spent 14 days basically going from Basrah to Iraq to Kurdistan,” he said.

“From a historical perspective it was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t understand the era,’ you know because it’s the ‘Cradle of Civilization.’ It was just amazing.â€

Mr Smyth said the market for Afghanistan, Iraq and West Africa was growing with a sharp increase in demand, but was still in its infancy in terms of the number of tourists actually going.

Interestingly, these former war zones are popular among older semi-retired or retired Australians in their 60s and 70s.

Mr Smyth said visiting these places is not cheap, nor are they suitable for the first time traveller. Those interested are often people who are extremely well-traveled and who previously wanted to go but couldn’t because of a war or political instability, and now have the time and money.

“People who go there are generally happy to pay because that’s where they want to go,” Mr Smyth said.

“These are people who have done it all so it’s not, ‘We have $5,000 what can we get?’. These are people like, ‘I want to see it, what’s it going to cost?’

However, they are not looking for luxury.

“They want to get out and see how the locals live,” Mr Smyth said.

“They are happy to stay home and go to base if it takes them to that temple in the middle of the jungle they read about in a book.â€

Mr Smyth said the destinations appeal to well-educated history and culture buffs who are not blind and know exactly what they want to do. They are also attracted by the mystique, he said.

“It’s the authenticity and getting off the tourist trail,” he said.

Holiday hotspots around the world are facing massive tourist numbers in the wake of Covid, with locals and travelers getting fed up with the crowds.

Mr Smyth said he was stumped for content in his newsletter last month and at the last minute was added to a partner company’s 55-day expedition along the west coast of Africa, including the Sahara desert, Sierra Leone, Ghana and the Coast of Ivory.

“I couldn’t believe the response I got. I mean I just put it in as a filler thinking “this is out there, 55 days, but no one will want it”. I had three phone calls within 24 hours,” he said.

One of those calls was a 74-year-old man who wanted to know if they were too old.

There is an official “do not travel” advisory for both Iraq and Afghanistan issued by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs via its Smartraveller website, which is level 4, the highest level of advice.

“Do not travel to Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, due to the unstable security situation and the threat of terrorism, armed conflict, kidnapping and violent crime,” he advises.

As for Afghanistan, he warns: “Do not travel to Afghanistan due to the extremely dangerous security situation and the very high threat of terrorism and kidnapping.”

Afghanistan’s fledgling tourism sector – foreign visitors surged 120 percent to almost 5,200 last year – was rocked by a deadly attack on tourists visiting a market in May.

Six people were killed, including three Spanish tourists, and an Australian was among the injured.

Sierra Leone has a level two advisory: “exercise a high degree of caution”.

Because of these travel tips it is almost impossible to get travel insurance.

Mr Smyth’s company Forward Travel works with Global Rescue.

“They won’t cover your lost luggage or things like that, but they will cover you, say you’re in the Congo and there’s a political coup all of a sudden, they’ll send an extraction team to get you out,” he said. he.

“They will also cover your medical expenses, so if you fall ill in one of these countries or come down with some exotic disease, they will send you to a hospital of your choice.

“They cover you for the important parts, so people are skipping it.”

Surprisingly, he said it wasn’t much more expensive than regular travel insurance.

Mr Smyth, 46, said he was recently quoted about US$600 ($900) for an annual plan.

He advises travelers who want to go to these destinations to thoroughly research all local customs and potential dangers, consult with experts and discuss the destination in detail, register with their consulate before departure, use common sense when navigating the unfamiliar areas and always follow their advice. local guide.

Tourists are drawn to danger and destruction

Dr David Bierman, an expert in tourism risk management, told news.com.au that there are always tourists who get excited about going to dangerous or former conflict locations.

“We have a whole genre called dark tourism or ‘Thantourism’ where people go to places where terrible things have happened, whether it’s the site of a natural disaster or a Nazi concentration camp,” Dr Bierman. said.

He worked for the Israeli government’s tourism office for Australia, New Zealand and the South West Pacific between 1994 and 2006 and said the number one question he was asked was “is it safe?”.

His job involved a lot of informing travelers about which areas were perfectly fine and which areas they should reasonably avoid. However, there was a minority who seemed to have none of these concerns.

“There was always a small group of people who would want to go to the most dangerous country on the border with Syria, Lebanon or Gaza, who would be somewhat excited by the prospect,” he said.

He believes the government’s “don’t travel” travel advice can sometimes backfire on people.

“There’s always going to be people who think ‘oh everyone’s telling me I shouldn’t go there, so heck, I’ll go,'” he said, adding that this type of travel was often among wealthy risk-takers because the cost financial was high.