Tourist Motivation and Reflection on Experiences at Cremation Sites of Varanasi

Abstract

Visiting sites associated with death or macabre is generally considered morally transgressive human behaviour. Nevertheless, such dark tourism sites have recently gained visitors' attention. Curiosity and attraction for death are not new; historically, visiting cremation sites are rooted in Roman Empire. Regardless of increasing attention, the motives and consumption of tourists visiting cremation sites are fragile in literature. This study primarily focuses on the tourists' fascination towards cremation grounds and their moral and emotional engagement during consternated consumption. As most individuals who visit macabre sites have a keen interest in death, the emotional engagements and experiences at the site are integral. The transformational, subjective, and phenomenological aspects of such tourism encounters are also acknowledged in recent literature. It is crucial to continue and broaden research on consumer motivation by focusing on how visitors' emotional connections are created and how they affect the consumers' engagement and experience at the dark site.