Have you ever decided to go on holiday somewhere, only to find after a little research that there have recently been bouts of violence in the area, or terrorist attacks? Disappointing isn't it? There are people, however, who actively seek these kinds of locations to take their holidays, either taking an interest in the social effects of war, or just taking their thrill seeking to the next level.
Though this kind of tourism is becoming more and more popular, it is by no means a new phenomenon. In 1979 the Sumerland Hotel opened in Beirut, Lebanon and was marketed as the first hotel resort that offered customers the chance to holiday inside a civil war zone. In the 80s an Italian company bested this by offering tourists the chance to see the conflict zone of Beirut's Green Line.
Presently, the Alternative Tourism Group offer package holidays that include tours around the West Bank and Gaza strip, allowing tourists the chance to see refugee camps and listen to the Palestinian victims. The sites of suicide bombers detonation are even the focal points of some tours.
here is a company, Hinterland Travel, which has been leading tours around Iraq's historical sites since 1972, and the recent outbreak of war has not stopped it. And now the effects of war on the country are being integrated into the tours. One tourist claims to have seen a plume of smoke and heard a loud bang as a bomb was detonated in at the Turkish Embassy.
These kinds of tales paint a picture of danger and death that is not all that accurate, according to many of these extreme tourists. They say, as long as you take precautions, these kinds of places can be quite safe for a tourist, and are only as dangerous as you want to make it. There are safer and more dangerous places too. North Korea, for example, is technically still at war with South Korea, and yet visiting the North is quite safe.
Though this kind of tourism is becoming more and more popular, it is by no means a new phenomenon. In 1979 the Sumerland Hotel opened in Beirut, Lebanon and was marketed as the first hotel resort that offered customers the chance to holiday inside a civil war zone. In the 80s an Italian company bested this by offering tourists the chance to see the conflict zone of Beirut's Green Line.
Presently, the Alternative Tourism Group offer package holidays that include tours around the West Bank and Gaza strip, allowing tourists the chance to see refugee camps and listen to the Palestinian victims. The sites of suicide bombers detonation are even the focal points of some tours.
here is a company, Hinterland Travel, which has been leading tours around Iraq's historical sites since 1972, and the recent outbreak of war has not stopped it. And now the effects of war on the country are being integrated into the tours. One tourist claims to have seen a plume of smoke and heard a loud bang as a bomb was detonated in at the Turkish Embassy.
These kinds of tales paint a picture of danger and death that is not all that accurate, according to many of these extreme tourists. They say, as long as you take precautions, these kinds of places can be quite safe for a tourist, and are only as dangerous as you want to make it. There are safer and more dangerous places too. North Korea, for example, is technically still at war with South Korea, and yet visiting the North is quite safe.
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