Exploring Dark Tourism in Bangladesh: tourist engagement and perspectives in South Asia and beyond

Sultana, Nigar (2024) Exploring Dark Tourism in Bangladesh: tourist engagement and perspectives in South Asia and beyond. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the history and evolution of the dark tourism research field, with a particular focus on South Asia and specifically Bangladesh. Using global examples from online interview and an in-person case study of Rayer Bazar Boddhovumi or the Martyred Intellectuals Memorial, a site central to the Bangladesh Liberation War, the motivations of visitors to seek out such sites and their on-site and post-visit behaviour are analysed, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The work reflects on the commodification of death from both domestic and global perspectives. Appraising existing literature, this work expands the current theoretical framework to explore noteworthy aspects of dark tourism in Bangladesh. Centred around a constructivist research paradigm and employing methods derived from relativist, interpretivist, epistemological and ontological frameworks, innovative qualitative research ensures that data is interpreted and understood from a human perspective. The data gathered highlights Bangladeshi and South Asian perspectives and draws on non-South Asian experiences, to investigate how attitudes and behaviours at global and domestic levels shape national identity and heritage. Bangladesh is a growing tourism prospect, subject to increased government investment, which inspires patriotism and a sense of national pride in domestic visitors. The role of family tourism and ancestry is considered, as is the role of online reviewing and sharing of experiences. Visitors to dark tourism sites are reckoning with multiple motivations at once: paying their respects, mourning, and reinforcing beliefs. This culminates in the creation of a collective social memory. Bringing vital focus to the South Asian dark tourism industry, the research invites further critical attention.