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• Even After the ‘Titan’ Submarine Disaster, Demand for Extreme Travel Has Never Been Higher

The tragedy threatened to derail one of the tourism industry's fastest growing sectors. Instead, experts say demand has never been higher.

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Scaling the highest peaks, diving to the depths of the ocean, taking a flight to space—these trips are not for the faint of heart. Nevertheless, so-called “extreme tourism” is booming.

“During the pandemic, people were sitting at home, examining their lives, which created a pent-up demand for making travel a priority,” says Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) President Shannon Stowell. “Now, adventure travel is exploding. The concept of small group travel in remote locations is way more appealing, compared to visiting over-touristed locations.”

“It hit the core for so many people, in terms of fascination and anxiety about the risks that people are willing to take to experience something so extreme, “says Matt Berna, Intrepid Travel president for the Americas. “We were hoping for the best result, which didn’t come. Innately, that’s going to ripple through our industry. It has shed light on the fact that there’s a lot that goes into running a qualified, highly safe, inspected and reputable trip.”

Remarkably, mere months on, experts says that the OceanGate disaster hasn’t put off travelers who were already eager to push their limits—especially wealthy travelers who have the means and time to accumulate unique experiences that come with bragging rights.

In 2021, the global adventure tourism market was valued at $282.1 billion, according to a report by Grand View Research. It’s now projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 15.2 percent from 2022 to 2030, with the hard adventure segment representing a significant revenue share of more than 20 percent. This is credited to a gradual increase in the number of travelers that are willing to take high-risk activities and are open to adventures.

“A little bit of risk is good because it makes you feel like you’re accomplishing something,” says Massimo Prioreschi, president and CEO of Mt. Sobek, an adventure tour operator offering trips such as polar region adventure cruises. He says he’s personally seen an uptick in year-over-year bookings. “But the more extreme the activity, the higher the chance of death. It’s good to know what you’re getting into—and the tour company should qualify you, as well.”

Tim Tuiqali, guest experiences manager at VOMO, adds that “no line has been drawn between adventure sports and the Titan implosion.”

“It hasn’t affected our business,” he says. “We are actually seeing a steady increase in interest. At a luxury level, we understand that safety is paramount. Our guests put a lot of trust in us. We’ve been offering the shark dives for more than 15 years and haven’t had any incidents.”

Lifelong explorer Milbry Polk, co-author of “Women of Discovery,” emphasizes that travelers need to choose companies that have very good track records.

Others even argue that would be adventurers should not be put off by the Titan catastrophe. While OceanGate did blur the lines between scientific expedition and tourist attraction for the uber-wealthy, the research being generated was genuine and in the true spirit of exploration. Their goal was to research the ecosystem of the deep North Atlantic Ocean, and to gain a better understanding of how and why some communities of organisms develop in geographic isolation, while others range broadly across the ocean floor.

In the Wall Street Journal , Explorer’s Club President Richard Garriott de Cayeux wrote, “Harding and Nargeolet [Titan crew members[ were individuals who relentlessly pushed boundaries for the betterment of science. Critics may label their expedition as ‘extreme tourism,’ and perhaps it was, but it was their spirit of exploration that propelled them to seek, experience and learn…we will not stop exploring.”

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Extreme tourism: ‘If it was safe, that’s not an adventure’

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Tomaž Rotar knows a thing or two about life and death in extreme environments. In February 2021, the Slovenian oral surgeon was sitting inside a cramped tent 7,300m up K2, the world’s second highest mountain. More than 20 climbers had gathered in the dark on the snowbound ledge, arriving at the camp in worsening winds and temperatures that were already below -30C. 

To stand a chance of reaching the summit as the weather window they had been chasing began to close, they would have to set off again almost immediately.

Most of the climbers there that night did the sane thing; they sat tight and descended at dawn, many swallowing the fact that they had paid guiding companies at least £20,000 for a chance to reach the summit in winter, a feat that had been achieved for the first time only weeks earlier. Others felt moved to step back into the darkness and attempt what they had flown halfway around the world to do.

Rotar was among seven climbers who made the decision to go on. He only turned back hours later when he came across an unexpected crevasse. Three other climbers managed to get across it, and continued. When they failed to return, a frantic search gripped the world’s media as military helicopters and even a fighter jet scoured K2.

All three men died that night. It would be months before their frozen bodies could be found. As Rotar has followed news updates about the Titan submersible this week with a familiar feeling of dread, he has been reflecting on the calculations wealthy adventurers make when they face that vital decision: do we stay, or do we go?

“It’s the same kind of people who feel the same kind of draw, whether it’s to go deep under the sea, or to climb very high, or to run very far,” he says. “It’s a kind of sickness, like a venom in your veins that makes you want to go. Because you want that beautiful feeling that comes when the danger is over and you know you have achieved something. And then you don’t even know how you lived before that, so you go back and you do it again.”

At the extreme and often prohibitively costly end of the travel industry, a niche has grown to meet demand for variations on that same feeling. From the oceans, to the mountains, to polar ice sheets, to active volcanoes — and now the vast expanse of space — people are increasingly prepared to pay small fortunes in pursuit of big, sometimes dangerous dreams.

Even the South Pole — which, after Scott’s ill-fated visit in 1912, went unvisited by humans until 1956 — is now offered in tourist brochures. The US Amundsen-Scott South Pole station is shadowed by another facility, about half a mile away: a tourist camp that welcomes visitors with a sign announcing “the world’s southernmost resort”. Antarctic Logistics & Expeditions, which runs the camp, offers a range of ways to get there, including the “South Pole Overnight” trip at $65,000 — guests simply fly there and back (and are presented with a certificate on their return).

Interest in visiting Antarctica — the world’s coldest, highest, windiest continent — is surging, with the large majority of people arriving via cruise ships and landing in small boats. The number coming ashore doubled from 26,000 in the 2014/15 austral summer season to reach 55,000 in 2019/20. (Data from the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators also records some of the activities they undertook: the most recent season saw tourists go stand-up paddleboarding 598 times, snorkelling 1,661 times, snowboarding 766 times and making 4,217 dives in submersibles.)

As with other areas of the “extreme tourism” world, tour operators are increasingly blurring the lines between holidays and expeditions. As well as fly-in trips to the South Pole, ALE offers a range of itineraries that casual observers would assume were the preserve of professional explorers. Want to ski from the edge of the continent to the Pole, a 60-day epic, battling temperatures down to -30C? Just head to the ALE website and, if you can manage the $85,000 price tag, click the “book now” button. The trip will be led by an experienced guide (though it’s up to you whether you mention that in your press release and Insta-posts).

Particularly popular is the “ski the last degree” expedition, where guests are dropped by plane 69 miles from the Pole (one degree of latitude), then trek there on skis over about five days, giving those on a tight schedule the flavour of a classic polar crossing. According to IAATO, numbers taking part in the $75,000 trip tripled in the three years to 2019; those interested can head off on December 7 or 14, or January 4 next year.

“We push our clients as far as they want to go, from abseiling to zip lining to getting a taste of what it’s like being a polar explorer,” says Patrick Woodhead, a record-breaking Antarctic adventurer and founder of the luxury Antarctic operator White Desert.

Starting in 2005 with three tents and two clients, White Desert now runs three camps, each for 12 guests, offering cocktails and chef-prepared meals, a yoga pod, sauna and library. Transport options include a Gulfstream private jet (a service that Hamish Harding, one of the five people who died on the Titan submersible, was involved in setting up); clients typically pay around $100,000 per visit. “I think that this kind of travel is exactly what people are looking for,” says Woodhead. “When people come to Antarctica, they are disconnected from their phones . . . they’re in an otherworldly situation and environment and that very much changes people.”

Though tourism is growing more normal in Antarctica, risks remain. The US Coast Guard is currently carrying out an investigation after four cruise-ship tourists were killed in three incidents at the end of 2022. Two died after an inflatable boat capsized, one when a “rogue wave” hit the ship, and another fell and hit his head in rough waters.

Yet one of the odd things about extreme tourism is that risk seems to attract rather than deter customers. Just two days after a volcano erupted on White Island off New Zealand in 2019, killing 22 people, a boat guide in Whakatāne, the town closest to the volcano, told reporters that he had begun receiving new inquiries from tourists who wanted to go there. One woman wanted to see White Island close up “to feel the fury”.

“It’s the same kind of thing that the Romantic poets talk about when they talk about the sublime in nature, the spectacles that take us out of ourselves and transcend the day-to-day human experience,” says Amy Donovan, a geographer and volcanologist at Cambridge university who has watched demand grow ever higher for proximity to spewing ash and lava. When Fagradalsfjall erupted in Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula in March 2021, more than 350,000 people flocked to the site over the following 10 months.

After two people died in the Clipper Round The World yacht race in 2015/16, applications increased. When the celebrated US extreme skier Doug Coombs was killed in 2006 in an accident in La Grave, France, an event reported at the time as “like Superman dying”, guides noticed an uptick in inquiries from American tourists wanting to ski there.

Disaster also sells in the Himalayas. The deadly 2021 winter season on K2 — which claimed the lives of two climbers in falls, as well as the three who were lost near the summit — only increased demand for attempts on a mountain that is far more dangerous than Everest. Last summer, about 200 people reached the summit of K2, more than triple the previous record.

“People want to climb Everest because it’s dangerous and involves risk,” says Lukas Furtenbach, an Austrian mountain guide specialising in premium expeditions to Mount Everest (his packages cost up to $217,000, including personalised, professional-level video and photography). “If nobody died and it was 100 per cent safe, that’s not an adventure and I think demand would decrease.”

This year’s Everest season saw a record number of climbers — and a record number of deaths, 17. Furtenbach, whose clients all safely reached the summit, is increasingly concerned about what is happening when money, ego and the human urge to seek thrills collide in dangerous places. “I would say 14 of these deaths could have been avoided with very simple safety protocols,” he says. “Four of them were clients who went missing on summit day. Other people ran out of oxygen. These things should be impossible, and it’s happening because operators are not regulated.”

Not all extreme travel involves physical exertion. Woodhead, the White Desert founder, is this weekend in Equatorial Guinea, speaking at the inaugural “Most Traveled People” conference. The event caters to “competitive travellers”, a rapidly expanding group who attempt to visit as many places as possible on Earth, logging their visits online to climb up the league tables. Having decided the 193-long list of UN-recognised countries was too easy to complete, enthusiasts have divided the world further — MTP’s list now runs to 1,500 countries, regions, territories, dependencies, island groups and so on. (Currently top of the leaderboard is Harry Mitsidis, 51, who has reached 1,362 of them).

MTP is not alone. Since 2009, the Extreme Traveler International Congress has run meetups for tourists wanting to go beyond the brochures. Venues have included Baghdad, Mogadishu and Rockall, a granite islet in the north Atlantic.

“I think there’s a growing awareness that it’s possible to get to these kind of places,” says James Willcox, whose company Untamed Borders offers trips to destinations including Afghanistan, Syria and Yemen and has organised events for ETIC. “Previously, if a destination wasn’t in the Thomas Cook brochure and there wasn’t a Lonely Planet guidebook, people just had zero information. Now it is fairly easy to find out about anywhere online, and social media has this normalising effect — once you start looking, you see that other people are going, however unlikely the destination.”

Virgin Galactic is due to launch its first commercial space flight next week. Already 800 people have bought tickets, which now cost $450,000

The drive to tick boxes and complete defined challenges runs through much extreme travel. As reaching the “seven summits” (the highest mountain on each continent) has become common, adventurers have strived for the “explorer’s grand slam” (the seven summits plus North and South Pole), or even the “explorer’s extreme trifecta” (the highest and lowest places on Earth, Everest and Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, as well as space). A new generation is now rushing to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000m peaks, often using extensive helicopter support to do so. Critics have pointed out that the approach creates a small number of “honeypot” objectives, while ignoring less well-trodden paths.

The wider phenomenon of buying adventure has long precedents, says Leo Houlding , a professional climber with a string of groundbreaking expeditions to his name. “Since the beginning of exploration, wealthy people have patronised and paid to join expeditions,” he says. “In the so-called golden age of European alpinism, the peaks were being climbed by rich Britons using hired local guides — some were probably good climbers, others were probably paying to go so they could dine out on it.” Nevertheless, the trend has “exploded” in the past decade, he says.

Space offers the lure of a new frontier. Virgin Galactic is due to launch its first commercial space flight next week — a two-hour experience that will reach about 55 miles above the Earth’s surface. Already 800 people have bought tickets, which now cost $450,000. Meanwhile, the Jeff Bezos-owned Blue Origin rocket reaches 62 miles in a flight of just 11 minutes; since its first crewed flight in 2021, passengers have included the Star Trek actor William Shatner, the undersea explorer Victor Vescovo and Hamish Harding.

A more leisurely option is Space Perspective, an eight-person capsule that will be carried to about 19 miles (the stratosphere, rather than space) beneath a balloon. Guests are promised “No rockets. No g-force” but rather a gentle “meticulously crafted” six-hour flight “complete with a meal and cocktails”. The company hopes to launch late next year, tickets are already on sale at $125,000 per head.

Many of the operators are developing tourism and commercial space travel in tandem, and extreme travel increasingly cleaves close to science and conservation. Whereas White Desert’s Woodhead started his company by hitching a lift on a Russian cargo plane taking scientists to Antarctica, he says his planes now deliver about 250 scientists to the continent each year, the same number as his high-paying tourists. Original Travel is currently offering a £52,000-per-person trip to Botswana in which tourists will help with the release of a dozen relocated rhinos.

Jimmy Carroll of tour operator Pelorus recently organised a trip for a wealthy family that involved chartering a yacht with an on-board helicopter to Antarctica. At the client’s request, Carroll organised the charter of a second yacht, with a second helicopter, to accommodate a team of research scientists who would also teach the client’s 12-year-old daughter.

Pelorus offers access to submersibles too, of the sort that have become de rigueur aboard expedition superyachts — the increasingly in-demand vessels designed to access the harshest seas without sacrificing comfort. Some of Carroll’s clients recently chartered U Boat Navigator, a 24m yacht which sleeps six and is equipped with two submersibles. Both are built by Triton, whose underwater vehicles, which cost up to $40mn, have been used to film the BBC Blue Planet series. The Florida company was given a boost last year when it welcomed two new investors: the billionaire American hedge fund manager Ray Dalio and James Cameron, the Titanic movie director and submariner.

“People are intrigued by the fact that 70 per cent of the world is covered by water and we have seen very little of it,” Carroll says. “And I think the likes of David Attenborough ’s programmes have definitely helped spark imaginations.”

Perhaps the most extreme tourist of all splashed back down to Earth last month after an eight-day visit to the International Space Station. John Shoffner, 67, former chief executive of the fibre-optic cable company Dura-Line, was one of three astronauts who had bought places on Axiom’s second trip to space; the company hasn’t said how much they paid but previously reported ticket prices of $55mn. Like many adventurers, Shoffner has form across multiple disciplines: he takes part in 24-hour car races at Germany’s Nürburgring, skydives and BASE-jumps and has raced across America by bike without support.

Why does he do these things? “Well, they’re fun,” he says . “They help you find your edge — I would say your limit, but you don’t really want to find the limit.”

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Why humans are drawn to the ends of the Earth

Despite the risks, costs and environmental concerns of extreme tourism, people are still drawn to potentially dangerous trips – but why?

A year ago this week, the world focused its attention on the remote depths of the North Atlantic when the Titan sub, a cramped vessel operated by a video game controller , lost contact with its host ship on the sea's surface while descending to the Titanic wreckage. With just a 96-hour supply of oxygen, a frantic rescue mission unfolded.

A few days later, authorities confirmed that the poorly designed submersible had suffered a " catastrophic implosion " 3,800m below the sea, instantly killing the two-man crew and three passengers who had paid $250,000 apiece for their trip.

Anyone wondering whether the Titan's grisly fate might lead us to reconsider the safety and wisdom of extreme tourism got their answer late last month when a luxury real-estate billionaire announced plans to build yet another submersible to visit the Titanic site. The news came just nine days after the Blue Origin space tech company funded by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos launched its first crewed flight since one of his rockets crashed in flames in 2022. The six space passengers paid as much as $1.25m apiece for the nine-minute-and-53-second suborbital flight.

Yet, given the risks, costs and environmental concerns associated with extreme tourism, many are still questioning whether travellers should continue to venture to the edge of the Earth – or beyond.

"The extreme tourism sector is fraught with high costs, high danger and variable safety precautions," said Melvin S Marsh, who presented his research paper, Ethical and Medical Dilemmas of Extreme Tourism , to the International Conference on Tourism Research in Cape Town in March. Despite the interest in boundary-pushing travel, he noted "the ethical and legal considerations of some of the riskier activities have not yet caught up".

Still, Marsh and others say they don't expect anything to change.

"Nobody is surprised about any deaths that happen like this. You know it's going to happen," he added. "Very few people are even thinking about the issue."

Meanwhile, despite the extreme pollution caused by rocket launches , the number of private rocket launches has more than doubled since 2019 , thanks in large part to billionaires Bezos, Elon Musk and Richard Branson's ongoing battle to see which of their commercial rocket companies achieves dominance.

Advocates say this new space race resembles the evolution of air travel. At first, daredevils and mavericks flew in planes, followed by wealthy passengers. Eventually the industry developed high-capacity jumbo jets that have made air travel affordable, ubiquitous and now the safest form of transportation on the planet.

According to Deana Weibel, a cultural anthropologist who studies religious pilgrimages and space tourism, the urge to explore distant frontiers – be it sailing across the sea or shuttling into space – is part of being human. And while some might dismiss 10-minute space trips as a shameless grab for bragging rights, Weibel says seeing the Earth from the blackness of outer space has a transformative effect on travellers – a documented experience known as the Overview Effect .

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One of the most iconic environmental photographs ever taken – the famed Earthrise picture shot in 1968 by US astronaut William Anders, who died this month – not only inspired a sense of awe by giving us a perspective of humanity's place in the Universe, but also made it clear that when viewed from space, Earth has no borders. We all live on a tiny blue planet floating alone in a sea of blackness.

Weibel has interviewed astronauts who say their lives were transformed the moment they peered back at our planet from above.

"It forces you to recognise that you're on a planet, orbiting the Sun and there's an entire universe around us," she said. "It takes something that was sort of imagined and makes it glaringly, overwhelmingly real in a way you can't deny… It's the realisation of how fragile the planet is and how everything else around it is not livable."

Inspiring, yes, but back here on Earth, we've seen that when wealthy travellers take risks, everyone bears the costs.

The Titan submersible rescue effort cost the US government millions of dollars and stirred global interest. In contrast, a few days earlier, the Greek coast guard did little to help when a fishing boat packed with smuggled migrants sank in the Mediterranean, killing more than 600 people. Former US President Barack Obama was one of many noting the uneven media attention, which he said illustrated " obscene " levels of inequality.

Arun Upneja, dean of the School of Hospitality Administration at Boston University, said one way to address the potential risks and costs of extreme tourism would be requiring companies offering these voyages to carry insurance making them liable for the risks and potential cleanup of an accident.

"Search and rescue insurance should be in some way mandatory… so society's not on the hook," he said.

But like Marsh, Upneja doesn't believe that the potential dangers of extreme tourism are enough to slow its momentum. In fact, he notes that the waiver signed by Titan passengers reportedly mentioned the word "death" three times on the first page . Price isn't likely to be a long-term hindrance either.

"Costs are bound to come down and make this available to larger groups," he added. "People have been doing it and they are going to [keep] doing it."

Yet, one notable change in the past year is that industry insiders seem to be taking the risk associated with potentially risky excursions more seriously. Two victims of the Titan accident were members of The Explorers Club , an international organisation founded in 1904 by Arctic explorers to promote scientific discovery and research. After the Titan incident, members formed a quick-response task force to assist in rescue and recovery efforts for those in dangerous settings.

The task force had previously assisted with various rescue missions, such as a hiker lost in a remote mountainous region of South America. Then earlier this month, the group mobilised to assist with the search for Michael Mosley , the doctor and BBC television host whose body was eventually found near a hiking trail in Greece.

"It's very much part of the Titan legacy," said Synnøve Strømsvåg, chair of The Explorers Club's Norway chapter and lead of the rescue task force. "If there's a problem, we put that out to the whole network. These people have networks and connections and ideas… We're not taking for granted that everything that can be done is done."

But Strømsvåg says that while improved safety and accountability is important, incidents like the Titan implosion shouldn't halt extreme travel. She notes that nothing can stop the urge for people to explore and push their limits – and nothing should.

"Humans have always been exploring. That's how we learned how the world works. That's how we've learned science. We underestimate the value of private business and individuals for moving that technology forward," she said.

Yet, others argue that people don't need to risk their lives soaring through the stratosphere or descending to the seafloor to have a meaningful travel experience.

Pauline Frommer, the editorial director of Frommer's travel guides, says spending obscene amounts of money for a trip doesn't ensure you'll have a meaningful adventure. On the contrary, it's likely to remove you from the people and cultures that make the world so wondrously diverse and therefore restrict how much of a meaningful and potentially transformational travel experience you may have.

"When you put your life at risk, you are cutting yourself off from the life of that destination. Sometimes these extreme adventures isolate you," she said.

Frommer says her most memorable travel experiences – be it an unexpected encounter with strangers or an early morning walk in a city as it awakens – may sound far more mundane than extreme, but that doesn't make them any less unforgettable to her.

She recalls visiting Taiwan and meeting a monk at a park. "I had a long, long talk. We started chatting about life, and his life and what it's like to be in a monastery," she said. "And to this day, I think about that. It was just a conversation."

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Why is extreme ‘frontier travel’ booming despite the risks?

Associate Professor, Tourism and Society, University of Tasmania

Professor, University of Tasmania

Senior lecturer, University of Tasmania

Professor of Sustainable Tourism and Heritage | Co Chair - World Economic Forum Global Future Council on the Future of Sustainable Tourism, Western Sydney University

Disclosure statement

Anne Hardy receives funding from the Australian Research Council to (LP 190101116) and the Dutch Research Council (NWA 1435.20.001) and Hurtigruten Australia who provide in-kind support for fieldwork.

Can Seng Ooi presently receives funding from the Australian Research Council to (LP 190101116).

Hanne E.F. Nielsen receives funding from the Australian Research Council LP190101116, which also includes funding from partner organisation Intrepid Travel, and DP220103005; the Dutch Research Council (NWA.1435.20.001); and the Australian Antarctic Division. Hurtigruten Australia provide in-kind support for fieldwork.

Joseph M. Cheer presently receives funding from the Australian Research Council (LP190100367) and Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences (22K12588). He is also empanelled to the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI) for the Pacific Islands from which he receives funding. Joseph is Co-Chair of the World Economic Forum Global Future Council for the Future of Sustainable Tourism and board member of PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association).

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The world has watched in shock as rescue crews feverishly search for the Titan submersible vehicle, which disappeared while attempting to take tourists to view the wreckage of the Titanic in the North Atlantic.

The horror of the incident raises questions as to why people engage in risky tourism activities in remote locations and whether there should be more restrictions to what adrenaline-seeking tourists can do.

What is frontier tourism?

This type of travel, known as “ frontier tourism ”, is becoming big business.

The wider adventure tourism industry is already worth billions of dollars – and is growing quickly. Frontier tourism is an exclusive and extreme form of adventure travel. The trips are very expensive, aim to overstimulate the senses and go to the outer limits of our planet – the deep oceans, high mountains, polar areas – and even space.

Frontier tourism is not new; humans have explored remote locations for millennia. Pasifika people used the stars to navigate the oceans for migration and trade. Europeans sailed to the edges of what they believed to be a flat Earth.

In recent years, however, frontier tourism has attracted widespread attention thanks to the common occurrence of long queues on Mount Everest , the trending TikTok phenomenon of crossing the #DrakePassage in Antarctica and the rapid development of space tourism for the wealthy.

The rise of travel content sharing on social media and revenge travel following COVID-19 have contributed to the surge in its popularity.

Read more: More than 100,000 tourists will head to Antarctica this summer. Should we worry about damage to the ice and its ecosystems?

Why are we so obsessed with extreme forms of tourism?

Risky activities release chemicals in the brain that can be addictive. Research suggests engaging in risky tourism activities, such as scaling a high mountain, can bring about feelings of accomplishment and euphoria. Travellers report feeling alive and experiencing a sense of transformation.

Some are also attracted to the pristine, untouched and remote aspects of the locations that they visit. Furthermore, the element of fantasy associated with imagining certain places or stories, like the movie Titanic, can be alluring.

Besides physical frontiers, there is also the thrill people get at pushing the human body to its limits and facing one’s fears. Base-jumping, skydiving, bungee jumping and polar plunges are common examples of this.

In a slightly more mundane way, even tasting “ scary food ” pushes tourists outside of their comfort zone and helps them feel alive .

Still others make extreme tourist journeys to follow in the footsteps of their heroes , such as those who travel to Antarctica to pay homage to explorer Ernest Shackleton.

Extreme and risky activities not only make participants feel euphoric, but they also convey status. When bucket lists are ticked off and experiences shared on social media, this brings bragging rights. Research suggests many travellers seek recognition for undertaking the first, longest or most extreme experiences possible.

But frontier tourism is clearly not for all. It is usually only accessible to a privileged few, as the tragic circumstances of the Titan highlight. Passengers onboard the vessel reportedly paid US$250,000 for the voyage.

Read more: 70 years after the first ascent of Everest, the impact of mass mountaineering must be confronted

What are the impacts of frontier tourism?

Beyond the unspeakable angst that friends and family must endure when things go wrong, there are many other impacts of this form of tourism.

This type of travel can create environmental harm and negatively impact local communities . For example, after decades of mass mountaineering, the environmental impact on Mount Everest must be addressed.

And when mishaps do occur, the cost of search and rescue efforts can be massive and put rescue teams at great risk. The plight of frontier tourists are usually the focus of media reports, while emergency responders are often overlooked.

Recent efforts by sherpas such as Nimsdai Purja are trying to overcome this issue. Through the Netflix documentary, 14 Peaks, he publicises the behind-the-scene preparations and heavy lifting work done by sherpas who guide and rescue tourists up Everest and other mountains.

Frontier tourism is not going away

Despite tragedies like the Titan disappearance, tourists remain attracted to the quest for the most unique experiences in the most remote, uncharted places.

Tourists also increasingly feel able to embark on trips once perceived as too dangerous because technology and other innovations have ostensibly made them safer and more accessible.

In many instances that danger remains, but the commercial transaction strips away the perceived risks involved. Marketing materials aim to sell “safe” adventures, with the risks are often listed in the fineprint. A polar plunge in Antarctica, for instance, is often marketed as safe because participants are attached to a tether and the swim time is limited to prevent hypothermia.

Two decades ago, in forecasting the growth of space tourism, anthropologist Valene Smith said what tourists want, the industry will provide. This has become a truism, as the Titan voyages demonstrate.

The massive growth of frontier tourism could lead to even greater problems if the industry doesn’t respond in the right way. If travellers are going to expose themselves to extreme risks, whose responsibility is it, then, to ensure their safety and recovery should accidents occur?

Many tourism businesses and travel insurance companies make risks known to their guests. But regulations on disclosing risks differ between countries. These means travellers may have to evaluate the risks themselves, and this is fraught with danger if company standards are low.

One solution is frontier tourism might be best experienced in controlled and safe environments through digital storytelling or augmented and mixed reality . However, this may not be enough to satisfy the adrenaline junkies out there.

As the Titan incident illustrates, the unpredictable nature and unintended consequences of frontier tourism are very real things. While money can allow us to travel almost anywhere, it’s worth considering whether some places should just remain untouched, sacred and off limits completely.

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What is Extreme Tourism and Why It’s Becoming Popular

In recent years, a new trend has emerged in the world of travel – extreme tourism. Gone are the days when traditional sightseeing and leisurely vacations were the norm. Today, an increasing number of thrill-seeking adventurers are opting for adrenaline-pumping experiences that push their boundaries and offer a unique perspective on the world. 

Let’s delve into what extreme tourism entails and why it has gained such popularity.

What’s Extreme Tourism?

Extreme tourism can be defined as a form of travel that involves engaging in daring and unconventional activities, often in remote or hazardous locations, with an emphasis on adventure and excitement. 

It offers participants the opportunity to immerse themselves in unfamiliar and challenging environments, taking them far beyond the beaten path.

Driving Factors  

One of the driving factors behind the rise of extreme tourism is the desire for unique experiences. In an age where the world feels increasingly connected and accessible, travelers are constantly seeking ways to stand out from the crowd. 

Why Extreme Tourism is Becoming Popular

Extreme tourism offers a chance to escape the ordinary and embark on experiences that few have dared to undertake. From scaling treacherous peaks to diving with sharks, these activities provide a sense of accomplishment and a story to tell.

Additionally, the growing popularity of extreme tourism can be attributed to the rise of social media and the quest for the perfect Instagram moment. In the age of “likes” and viral content, travelers are eager to capture awe-inspiring images and videos to share with their friends and followers. 

Extreme activities, with their inherent thrill and stunning backdrops, provide the ideal opportunity for those seeking to showcase their adventurous side and garner attention on social media platforms.

Furthermore, advancements in technology and improved safety measures have made once-unreachable destinations more accessible to thrill-seekers. Remote and challenging locations that were previously reserved for only the most experienced adventurers are now open to a wider range of travelers. With the help of knowledgeable guides and specialized equipment, individuals can safely embark on daring expeditions that were once considered impossible.

Controversies 

While extreme tourism offers unparalleled excitement and adventure, it is not without its controversies. Critics argue that the pursuit of extreme experiences can have detrimental effects on fragile ecosystems and indigenous cultures. Irresponsible tourism practices, such as excessive littering or disturbance of wildlife, can lead to irreversible damage. 

As the popularity of extreme tourism grows, it is crucial to promote sustainable and responsible practices to ensure the long-term preservation of these extraordinary locations.

In conclusion, extreme tourism has emerged as a thrilling alternative to traditional forms of travel. With its emphasis on adventure, unique experiences, and the pursuit of the extraordinary, it has captivated the hearts of travelers worldwide. 

As long as it is approached with caution and a commitment to responsible tourism, extreme tourism offers a gateway to unforgettable adventures and an opportunity to explore the unexplored.

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Extreme Tourism Is a Booming Industry for the Rich, But Is It Ethical?

By Bethanie Hestermann

In June, the world was gripped by the disappearance of a deep-sea submersible that was taking paying customers—essentially, tourists—more than 2 miles deep into the ocean to visit the Titanic wreck site. The customers aboard the OceanGate vessel Titan were seeking the adventure of a lifetime, and they had paid handsomely for it. 

What the passengers got instead was a real-life version of the terrors outlined in the waiver they’d signed before stepping foot on the submarine. After a frantic five-day search, the U.S. Coast Guard determined that the Titan had in fact imploded, killing everyone on board. The vessel couldn’t stand up to the pressures of the deep.

The debacle raises questions about this type of extreme tourism—the kind in which ordinary people (often ordinary rich people) do extraordinary things, like summiting Everest, going up into space, and diving into the deep sea. Is this ethical? Is it fair? Is it reckless?

Outdoors.com sought perspectives from three people who have interest in and experience with these areas of extreme tourism: high-altitude trekking and mountaineering, space flight, and deep-sea dives. Here’s what they had to say.

Everest, A Playground for the Rich

It was a deadly spring climbing season on Mount Everest, which boasts the highest peak on Planet Earth. Reports suggest 17 people have died on these icy slopes in 2023. Already a sort of frozen graveyard, where doomed mountaineers like “Sleeping Beauty” and “Green Boots” serve as trail markers and somber warnings to those who shuffle past, Everest is certainly not for most. 

In recent years, though, it’s become more accessible to anyone who fancies themselves worthy of this hallowed peak—as long as they can pay the price, which can, in some cases, exceed $100,000. Nepal’s government issued a record number of permits in 2023 to people keen to summit. Is this exclusive adventure becoming a bit too accessible? 

Gelje Sherpa knows a thing or two about Everest and high-altitude trekking. He was the sherpa who, in May , helped rescue a Malaysian climber from Mount Everest’s “death zone.” Since he began his high-altitude career in 2017, 30-year-old Gelje has summited 13 of the 8,000-meter peaks and remains the youngest person to summit K2 in winter. He’s also led more than 25 successful expeditions to 8,000-meter peaks, including Everest, and he’s participated in more than 50 rescues across several peaks and trekking expeditions. 

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gelje Sherpa (@gelje_sherpa_)

Gelje makes his living guiding gung-ho climbers to the highest places in the world, but he’s also seen how humbling these expeditions can be, even to those who arrive prepared. So what does he think about Everest’s growing popularity and accessibility?

“The world of high-altitude mountaineering has exploded in the past years, and as [a] guide I have seen firsthand the impacts this has had,” Gelje said in an interview with Outdoors.com . “More and more people are embracing this concept of ‘nothing is impossible,’ mostly because of documentaries that have been released. This, to some people, means turning up to an 8,000-meter peak with no training and no idea of the skills involved. This is deadly. More and more people are involved in accidents because they just don’t know how to look after themselves.”

He suggests that not every person with deep pockets should be able to show up and get a permit to climb Everest—that’s a recipe for disaster. If the number of permits continues to increase every year, it’s possible the number of deaths will increase, too (although, it’s worth noting that most people blame climate change for the high death toll this year).  

Another problem is that as demand increases, companies raise their prices, essentially making the trek too expensive for many who are qualified to attempt the climb.

“[The] way it’s looking, yes, it’s just becoming a playground for the rich,” Gelje said. “Everest for sure is getting more and more expensive each year and limiting to people who have had this dream to climb it but could never afford it. [. . .] It’s a huge shame because Everest is such a stunning mountain to climb, but it’s just too overcrowded now, it takes away the beauty of it all.” 

“We also have to control how we move forward, potentially being more selective with clients who can receive a permit to climb an 8,000-meter peak,” he added. “This could mean making sure they have already summited a 6,000er before or [passing] a basic test to see their knowledge, et cetera.”

Another way to keep the danger factor in check, Gelje said, would be to limit permits. He doesn’t think this solution would go over very well, though.

“I think the only way to do it is by restricting permits to people who have the proper experience before coming to an 8,000er,” he explained. “However, this is highly unlikely, as it would probably half the number of people coming to Everest, and both the companies and the government would probably not back that idea.”

Gelje believes it’s also important to keep the sport open to newcomers who deserve the opportunity to try to make their dreams come true. In fact, asked whether “ordinary” people should be climbing Everest, Gelje is all for it, as long as they have the right experience. 

“Adri, my climbing partner, was an ‘ordinary’ person five years ago, but she trained hard and it was obvious, and now she is a mountaineer,” Gelje said.

Gelje and Adriana Brownlee “Adri” own AGA Adventures , and they help people grow in the mountaineering space and prepare for their dream quests, whether that’s trekking Annapurna Circuit or climbing Everest itself. Between the two of them, Adri and Gelje have three Guinness World Records, 30+ 8,000-meter peak summits, and 40+ mountaineering expeditions under their belts.

Space, the Final Frontier, Conquered?

Earlier this summer, a Blue Origin rocket engine exploded during testing at a facility in Texas—a harsh reminder that spaceflight is a dangerous undertaking. Blue Origin is Amazon-founder Jeff Bezos’s private space company that has successfully taken paying customers up into space aboard the New Shepard rocket, which is named after American astronaut Alan Shepard. 

Dylan Taylor was aboard the New Shepard on December 11, 2021, when he became one of the relatively few humans who have traveled to space—and one of even fewer humans to have traveled to space as a commercial astronaut. 

Taylor is a business leader and philanthropist. He is the chairman and CEO of Voyager Space and founder of the nonprofit Space for Humanity . As a cherry on top, he’s also one of the very few who have descended into the Challenger Deep in the Pacific Ocean’s Mariana Trench—the deepest known place on Earth. 

As an extreme tourist himself, Taylor is a believer in democratizing the world’s most exclusive adventures. 

“I’m in the camp that says space is the next big thing for humanity, that it’s sort of the blank canvas that we have the ability to sort of reimagine what’s possible, treat each other better, have a better civilization, those kinds of concepts,” he said in an exclusive interview with Outdoors.com . 

For Taylor, going to space was nothing short of life-changing.

“It is a very profound and transformative experience to see the earth from space, [and] it is very apparent when you’re up there that this is really a miracle that we have here on Earth,” he explained. “The rest of the universe is not like this. So far as we know, it’s cold and dark and hostile, and we have this sort of amazing, beautiful paradise here on Earth that sometimes I think we take for granted. It is very apparent when you’re up there how fragile the ecosystem is.”

Taylor paid a lot of money for this experience (he couldn’t share just how much, because he signed an NDA saying he wouldn’t), but he wants more people to be able to experience what he experienced, and this is something Space for Humanity is actively doing. He believes those who go to space come back with a new perspective on Planet Earth—and a renewed drive to protect it.

“There’s this notion that going to space has this transformative power—the overview effect, if you will—and that’s really a gift that should be shared widely,” Taylor said. “It shouldn’t be just professional astronauts or very wealthy people that benefit from that.” 

Space for Humanity’s Citizen Astronaut program fields thousands of applications each year from people who want to become citizen astronauts. They apply in part by outlining how their trip will empower them to be a force for good here on Earth. The program sponsors a new citizen astronaut each year, with the caveat that he or she will work on the projects or initiatives outlined in his or her application upon return.

While Space for Humanity is working to democratize space travel, for the most part, it’s still the realm of billionaires. Is space travel, then, becoming a prestigious feather in a very rich person’s cap?

“I think people have different motivations,” Taylor said. “Some, I think, are legitimately trying to check boxes and go down the list of all the different things you can do. Other people are just, like, in my case, just being super passionate about a lifelong dream.”

“But I think that desire to look [at] what’s over the hill and explore and do things that are unique and challenging, I think that’s sort of been embedded in humanity since the beginning of time.”

While humans’ desire to explore and push themselves to the limits is not new, the technology to take them to new heights—or depths—is relatively new, and, as OceanGate recently proved, technology can fail. Asked whether it’s reckless to take regular people to space, Taylor says no.

“I think it’s risky, and it’s really important that people who do those trips really understand the risks involved,” he explained. “But I don’t think it’s reckless.”

“I think it’s risky . . . but I don’t think it’s reckless.” Dylan Taylor

In the case of space, Taylor says regulations have kept it a tier or more above, say, OceanGate, but for-profit companies in this realm, in his view, should be investing profits back into making these extreme journeys safer and more accessible.

“Are there operators who are taking undue risk for monetary gain? I’ll leave that to others to decide, [but] in the case of space flight, it’s very tightly regulated, so it’s pretty difficult to do a money grab without crossing some boundaries that regulators would not allow you to,” he explained. 

“But I think a lot of these experiences are for-profit, [and] as long as those profits are reinvested back into perfecting the technology and making it more accessible, that’s probably a good thing. I think where it’s not a good thing is if people take undue risks for financial benefit and they don’t disclose what those risks are,” Taylor added. “I think that’s where it crosses the line in my view.”

Into the Abyss

Whether you book a ticket to space, participate in extreme sports like skydiving or big-wave surfing , hike in a national park, or drive to the grocery store down the street, safety is never guaranteed. However, when talking about the extremes of high-altitude climbs, being rocketed into space, and descending to the depths of the ocean, danger is more front and center in the conversation because a lot can go wrong, and, if it does, help may not be available. 

For the passengers of OceanGate’s Titan this past June, the chance to see the Titanic with their own eyes was worth the expense and the risk. If the demand is there, can we fault the companies that deliver the supply to meet the demand? Is an occasional disaster just part of human exploration?

Joe Dituri is a deep-sea diver who spent 28 years in the Navy, serving part of that time as a Navy Diving Saturation Officer. He also has a PhD in biomedical engineering and is known as “Dr. Deep Sea.” In June, Dr. Dituri surfaced after a 100-day jaunt living underwater. Dituri was his own test subject in Project NEPTUNE, in which he lived in the Jules’ Undersea Lodge, an underwater habitat in Key Largo, Florida, for 100 days straight, conducting daily experiments in human physiology.

Dituri is a huge proponent of pushing the envelope for human exploration. 

“My personal investment in this whole thing stems around the advancement of the human race,” he said in a video call with Outdoors.com from his Undersea Oxygen Clinic in Tampa, Florida. “So, we are advancing humans, we’re going down the road to that next thing that we’re doing. Once we solve this, we cure that. Once we do this, what’s left? Exploration of our galaxy, exploration of other galaxies. Exploration of all the world, right, to find everything that there is to be found. It’s the whole Star Trek thing. It’s to ‘boldly go where no man has gone before.’ But what is this about? It really is about exploration. It’s the only thing that will be left in the end.”

Dituri has traveled nearly 2,000 feet deep in the ocean, but not as a tourist. It was part of his training as a deep-sea emergency rescue unit in the U.S. military. Even still, he says democratizing adventure and exploration is critical, and it’s only reckless if participants aren’t trained and prepared.

“It is important to push the boundaries; nay, it is required to push the boundaries. We go boldly. This is what we do. This is, as a society, what we need to do,” Dituri said. “But, we need to perform risk mitigation. [. . .] When I jump out of an airplane, I have two parachutes on my back. It’s not just one. I always have a backup, and I’m well trained in what could go wrong. So . . . that’s the overall goal. You mitigate the risk down to an acceptable level, with training and education, and that’s what we’re looking to do. That’s the only way to pursue and go forward and basically make meaningful contributions.”

“When I jump out of an airplane, I have two parachutes on my back. It’s not just one. I always have a backup, and I’m well trained in what could go wrong.” – Joe Dituri, Dr. Deep Sea

Therefore, Dituri does not see the democratization of deep-sea exploration as a money grab. 

“The quote from President Kennedy comes up,” he added. “ We choose to do these things. We choose to go to the moon and these other things in this century. Not because they’re easy, but because they’re hard .” 

“This is the whole spirit of exploration,” Dituri concludes. “We need to gain and gather that knowledge and information . . . so that we can give it to the rest of humanity.”

If viewed through a glass-half-full lens, then, every implosion and explosion equates to some massive lessons learned—it’s one small step for man, one giant leap for humankind , so to speak. Not all extreme adventures that end badly offer up some consolation prize of knowledge or experience, though. Some just rip away a person’s life. Whether that person signed a waiver, handed over a fat check, or simply lived for the thrill, it nonetheless begs the question: Is there such a thing as an adventure too extreme, or are today’s most extreme adventures the proving ground for the next era in human exploration?

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Extreme tourism

Class of tourism From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Extreme tourism , also often referred to as danger tourism or shock tourism (although these concepts do not appear strictly similar) is a niche in the tourism industry involving travel to dangerous places ( mountains , jungles , deserts , caves , canyons , etc.) or participation in dangerous events. Extreme tourism overlaps with extreme sport . The two share the main attraction, " adrenaline rush " caused by an element of risk , [1] and differ mostly in the degree of engagement and professionalism .

Well-known extreme tourist destinations include:

• Chernobyl tours – Ukraine [2] [3]
• Swimming in the Devil's Pool in Victoria Falls – Zambia and Zimbabwe [4] [5]
• Hiking the Chang Kong Cliff Road on Mount Hua – China [4] [5]
• Yungas Road tours – Bolivia [4]
• Green Zone – Baghdad , Iraq [6]
• Sac Actun tours – Riviera Maya , Mexico [4]
• Cave of Swallows – Mexico [4]
• Pole of Cold – Oymyakon , Yakutia , Siberia [ citation needed ]
• Wreck of the Titanic – Atlantic Ocean [7]
• Mount Everest – Nepal
• North Korea
• Afghanistan
• Space tourism [7]
• Caving , Speleology
• Exploration
• Paragliding , Bungee jumping , Skydiving , Base jumping
• Storm chasing
• Urban exploration
• Via ferrata
• War tourism
• [2] Johnson, George (October 2014). "The Nuclear Tourist" . National Geographic . Vol.   226, no.   4. pp.   122–139. ISSN   0027-9358 . Archived from the original on April 13, 2021.
• [3] Brooks, Rosa (June 26, 2005). "Globetrotting Ghouls With Digital Cameras" . The Los Angeles Times . p.   23 – via Newspapers.com.
• [4] Binns, Melissa (July 13, 2019). "Extreme Tourism: 10 Of The Most Dangerous Places In The World Only The Brave Dare Visit" . TheTravel . Valnet.
• [5] Avakian, Talia (September 21, 2015). "16 adrenaline junkie attractions to visit in your lifetime" . Business Insider .
• [6] "Wish you were here? Pensioner clocks up 'extreme tourism' visits to Iraq, Afghanistan ad other trouble spots" . The Daily Telegraph . March 26, 2009 – via Newspapers.com .
• [7] Smith-Schoenwalder, Cecelia (June 29, 2023). "Despite 'Titan' Submersible's Fatal Wreck, Extreme Tourism Among the Ultra Wealthy Isn't Going Away" . U.S. News & World Report . pp.   C8–C11.
• Ladyvoyage.com: Extreme Tourism: Would you dare?
• elementmoscow.ru: Extreme Tourism
• BBC News: Russian tourists salute army boot camp
• Wall Street Journal: "Adventure Vacations for Overachievers"

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What Is Extreme Tourism?

Extreme tourism, also sometimes referred to as shock tourism, is travel that is strongly characterized by a sense of adventure or even physical danger. The “extreme” aspect of this type of tourism may derive from a destination itself or from one or more activities which are engaged in during one’s trip. Extreme tourism may be arranged by the traveler herself or may be coordinated by an adventure travel company. Critics of this type of tourism argue that it may lead to environmental damage.

In some cases, extreme tourism draws its sense of thrill or risk from a destination. Some extreme tourists travel to places that are considered moderately or even extremely unsafe for physical or political reasons. For instance, they may travel to regions that have been affected by nuclear disasters, like the area surrounding the Chernobyl plant in Ukraine, or to countries that are at war.

Another form of extreme tourism involves traveling to a destination in order to participate in one or more adventurous or potentially dangerous activities. While there are many different extreme activities in which one can participate, most of these activities are physical in nature. For example, an extreme tourist may take a trip which involves cage diving with great white sharks, BASE jumping, or parachuting from a static point such as a skyscraper or cliff, trekking across a desert, or exploring underwater caves.

Some travelers plan their own extreme tourism trips, while others work with an adventure travel agency. As extreme activities and destinations can pose a number of risks to the traveler, many travel experts advise booking one’s trip through an agency. Working with experienced extreme travel professionals can help ensure that the traveler is provided with accommodation and proper supplies during her trip and that she receives adequate medical attention if she is hurt. An extreme travel company may also be able to connect the traveler with local guides or translators when necessary.

Opponents of extreme tourism hold that this form of travel may put certain areas of the planet at a heightened risk of destruction. For instance, extreme travel to the Antarctic rose significantly from the late 20th century to the early 21st century. Many environmentalists and scientific researchers contend that continued Antarctic tourism may lead to the pollution of the continent as well as the introduction of invasive foreign organisms, which could threaten the existing purity of its ecosystems.

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Extreme tourism: why billionaires are willing to risk it all

It was less than an hour off the coast of Greenland that Jules Mountain began to question his sanity. The British entrepreneur was completing the second leg of his eight-day attempt to become the first person to fly a Bell 505 light helicopter across the Atlantic. “I had to go over freezing fog at 14,500 feet or ice would build up on the vehicle’s blades,” he says. “It was -14 degrees Celsius and the high altitude meant I was gasping for air. And then I worked out I had 30 minutes’ worth of fuel remaining.”

Mountain was flying the helicopter from Montreal to Guernsey: a nearly 4,000-mile journey that included fuel stops in the frozen wastelands of Northern Canada, Greenland, and Iceland. He says he took on the challenge when he realized the helicopter’s range was 350 miles and that it could fly only three hours at a time. It meant his longest leg required pumping fuel mid-flight.

“My previous goal was to trek to the North Pole, but it felt too easy,” says Mountain. “It didn’t feel dangerous enough: You could get rescued at any moment. Whereas with this challenge, flying over icebergs and forests far from civilization, an engine failure might mean death. And that’s when the adrenaline rush hits—it’s when you feel most alive.”

Mountain, who has also summited Everest, is one of many businesspeople taking on extreme adventures around the world. British billionaire Hamish Harding and Pakistani British executive Shahzada Dawood were among the passengers aboard the Titan submersible that disappeared in the North Atlantic Ocean on June 18. Operated by OceanGate, a US company that builds and launches manned submersibles, Titan was part of a tourist expedition to observe the wreckage of the Titanic at a depth of about 12,500 feet.

On June 22, remains from Titan were located by a remote-controlled underwater search vehicle about 500 meters from the wreckage of the Titanic , roughly 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. The US Coast Guard believes all five passengers died following a catastrophic implosion .

The extreme tourism industry is niche, but growing. A swelling number of companies have emerged to facilitate dangerous adventures for the super-rich. OceanGate began offering trips aboard Titan to the site of the Titanic wreckage in 2021; seats on the latest, ill-fated trip cost $250,000 per person. However, safety concerns were raised as early as 2018, during Titan ’s quality-control stage, including questions about the 6.7-meter vessel’s experimental carbon-fiber hull structure (typically, deep-diving subs have hulls made from metal) and lack of industry certification. Past passengers have also shared details of problems with communication, navigation, and buoyancy during their 12-hour round trip to the Titanic .

With such extreme adventures, the work of operators is naturally risky. Seattle-based mountaineer Garret Madison offers bespoke expeditions to unnamed, unclimbed Himalayan peaks through his company, Madison Mountaineering. He explains that the average Everest death rate is 1 percent—a higher figure than for US service members in recent conflicts. “It’s the exhilaration of being on the mountain and coming face-to-face with danger that’s so attractive.”

Since the pandemic, Madison has noticed an uptick in high-net-worth individuals booking out entire expeditions. “One client bought a whole trip to climb Mount Vinson in Antarctica for $200,000 last year,” he says. “It’s the latest trend: billionaires wanting their own private adventure with friends; they fly to Antarctica in a private jet. It’s next-level.”

Although his mountain expeditions are high-end, Madison says they come with minimum comfort. The greatest luxury he offers, he adds, is at Everest base camp: Warm showers, yoga sessions, and a dining tent with a movie screen are among the amenities on the $75,000 excursion. “The guys that come on my adventures ultimately want to suffer a little bit—that’s how they feel alive. Otherwise, they’d be staying at a Four Seasons five-star resort somewhere.”

However, a cottage industry of luxury extreme tourism also exists. White Desert Antarctica offers premium accommodation near the South Pole for $15,000 a night, replete with heated, opulently furnished pods and private chefs. Harding had also done that trip. “Hamish has been a true friend to White Desert for many years,” founder Patrick Woodhead said in a statement. “He has traveled with us to Antarctica a number of times, including with astronaut Buzz Aldrin when he visited.”

With these extreme tourism companies, safety generally comes with a high price tag. Madison says his service offers networks of expert guides and logistical know-how, as well as Western and Sherpa teams that coach, assist, and lead adventurers 8,000 meters above sea level. Extra oxygen, good food, and enhanced communications are also provided. “But you can do Everest cheaply and climb with your own tent and without a guide,” says Mountain. “There are plenty of operators that offer a rudimentary service—and that’s when it can get really dangerous. You’re left on your own.”

OceanGate appears to have had its feet in both camps. As the sole tourist operator providing trips to see the Titanic—and Titan one of only a handful of manned submersibles capable of reaching 12,500-foot depths—tickets weren’t cheap. At the same time, conditions inside the sub were far from luxurious, and the dive carried considerable risks. OceanGate’s waiver not only mentions death three times on page one , Titan was bolted from the outside—leaving those inside to survive on a finite amount of oxygen and rely on external support to get out of the sub, even after surfacing. The vessel was also controlled by a modified video game controller. “No one going on board would have been under any illusions that it was safe,” says Mountain. “That’s part of the appeal: The wreck is incredibly inaccessible, dangerous to visit, and steeped in mythology. And very few people have done it.”

Grace Lordan, associate professor in behavioral science at the London School of Economics, says these dangerous expeditions have superseded luxury items for thrill-seeking entrepreneurs. “Pleasure and purpose tend to determine happiness, and it used to be about material purchases and philanthropy. Over time, redistributing wealth still provides purpose, but pleasure is harder to attain.”

Ego is also a factor, says Lordan. “Luxury products are more available to the masses now. And we all want better dinner party anecdotes. So entrepreneurs, who tend to have a higher tolerance for risk, are increasingly desiring experiences that very few others have done.” They’ve already achieved the extraordinary feat of establishing major companies, Lordan explains, so now they want to push themselves in their personal lives.

These throwback explorations—climbing a mountain or crossing the ocean—are also a way for billionaires, many of whom have accumulated their wealth through digital transactions, to experience their physical limits in the face of mortal danger.

“The demographic is mostly men in their fifties and sixties, looking to feel alive,” says Madison. “They want to traverse the Khumbu Icefall or the northern ridge of Everest’s death zone, rather than just sitting behind a desk and watching their net worth accumulate on a screen. The closer you perceive death, the more alive you feel.”

Mountain completed his transatlantic helicopter flight in July 2020. It was a self-organized trip, during the height of the pandemic, arranged through the Canadian, Danish, and Icelandic authorities. As a pilot, he was exempt from Covid-19 restrictions. “It was a bonkers idea, but being an entrepreneur means being very driven: You want to push boundaries and prove you’re in a different capacity to others. And it was such a rush—when I reached Scotland I knew it was the home straight, I was celebrating.”

The Titan tragedy underlines the reality that, by their nature, these kinds of extreme adventures mean dicing with death. But therein lies the appeal. “These challenges will always come with risk,” says Mountain. “Otherwise, everyone would be doing them.”

First published on Wired UK

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Extreme tourism: Integrating ethical perspectives in boundless thrills

July 25, 2023 •

6 min reading

Adrenaline experiences - To risk or not to risk

As the world came to a standstill, gripped by the search for the vanished submersible Titan, carrying five individuals including OceanGate's CEO on a daring mission to explore the depths of the Titanic wreckage 4000 meters below the sea, the underlying question emerged:

" Why would anyone willingly expose themselves to such risks ?"

Undoubtedly, adrenaline-fueled experiences have always pushed the boundaries of exploration, whether it be delving into the ocean's abyss or venturing into the vast expanse of space

The quest for exclusivity

The advent of billionaire-funded space tourism ventures, such as Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic , has brought unprecedented attention to extreme tourism. These ventures promise ordinary individuals the chance to experience weightlessness and witness the Earth from a unique perspective. Similarly, ambitious deep-sea projects backed by billionaires like Richard Branson offer glimpses into the uncharted depths of our oceans. For billionaires, the pursuit of exclusive experiences in extreme tourism ventures represents a unique opportunity to indulge in unparalleled adventures and leave a lasting mark on history.

Nonetheless, these individuals have often reached the pinnacle of success in their respective fields, accumulating vast wealth and resources along the way. With a desire to set themselves apart and explore the limits of human capability, billionaires seek out extraordinary adventures that offer a sense of exclusivity. By participating in space travels or deep-sea expeditions, they become part of an elite group of pioneers, pushing the boundaries of what is known and experiencing a level of adventure that remains beyond the reach of the majority.

Rescue operations - Everybody deserves to be saved

Space and deep-sea tourism inherently carry risks, regardless of the meticulous precautions taken. Accidents and unforeseen challenges can occur, and when it does, the question arises as to who funds the search and rescue missions. Depending on the circumstances and location of the incident, responsibility for funding search missions can vary. In some cases, private companies or individuals may bear the financial burden of initiating search efforts, particularly if they are directly involved or have a vested interest in the successful outcome.

However, when incidents occur in remote or challenging environments, public-funded entities such as government agencies, coast guards, or search and rescue organizations often step in to coordinate and finance the search operations. These public-funded institutions possess the necessary expertise, resources, and infrastructure to conduct large-scale search missions efficiently. Moreover, their primary objective is to ensure the safety and well-being of individuals involved in extreme tourism activities, thereby emphasizing the importance of collaborative efforts between private entities and public-funded organizations to address emergencies effectively.

The stark contrast between search efforts for wealthy individuals involved in extreme tourism and the lack of substantial rescue operations for refugees in the Mediterranean raises profound questions about fairness and prioritization. While considerable resources are often allocated to search and rescue missions for affluent individuals, the same level of urgency and support is not consistently extended to those fleeing desperate situations. This disparity highlights the deep-rooted inequalities and systemic issues that persist in our global society. It calls for a critical examination of our priorities and a collective effort to address the fundamental humanitarian needs of vulnerable populations. By advocating for equality and empathy, we can strive to create a world where all lives are valued and where rescue efforts extend to those most in need, regardless of their socioeconomic status.

Ethical dimensions - Harnessing the potential of extreme tourism for a better world

While addressing the concerns of fairness and resource allocation, it is important to recognize the potential positive impact that extreme tourism adventures by wealthy individuals can have on funding research initiatives. The substantial investments made by these individuals in their pursuit of exclusive experiences can contribute to scientific breakthroughs and advancements. By channeling a portion of the revenue generated from these ventures towards research and development, critical studies can be undertaken to explore new frontiers, understand our planet better, and uncover innovative solutions to pressing global challenges. The funding acquired through these adventures can support scientific exploration, technological advancements, and environmental conservation efforts, benefiting not only the participants but also the broader scientific community and society at large. It is through this symbiotic relationship between extreme tourism and research funding that we can harness the potential of these adventures to drive progress, knowledge, and ultimately, a better future for all.

In conclusion, extreme tourism, with its adrenaline-fueled adventures and exclusive experiences, raises important questions about fairness, resource allocation, and the potential for positive impact. While appreciating the beauty of simplicity and finding fulfillment in the present moment is essential, it is equally crucial to acknowledge the potential benefits that these ventures can bring. By directing a portion of the funds generated from extreme tourism adventures towards research initiatives, we can fuel scientific advancements, promote environmental conservation, and contribute to a better understanding of our world.

However, as we embrace these opportunities, it is imperative to maintain a balanced perspective, ensuring that the benefits are shared equitably and that the well-being of all individuals, including vulnerable populations, is prioritized. By cultivating a sense of responsibility, empathy, and a commitment to inclusivity, we can strive for a future where extreme tourism not only offers thrilling experiences but also serves as a catalyst for positive change, ultimately making our world a better place for everyone.

Cultivating mindfulness

It is crucial to recognize the importance of cultivating mindfulness and an appreciation for the simple moments and natural wonders that surround us. Instead of constantly seeking out adrenaline-fueled thrills, we should encourage individuals to develop a deeper connection with their immediate environment. By fostering mindfulness, we can fully embrace the present moment and find profound joy in the ordinary. Just as the tourism commercial of Iceland comically expressed in their tourism commercial, we don't need to venture to distant planets when our own planet offers breathtaking beauty. By immersing ourselves in nature, whether it be strolling through a local park or marveling at a stunning sunset, we can cultivate a sense of awe and gratitude. Teaching people to appreciate these simple moments not only promotes personal well-being but also fosters a greater sense of environmental stewardship. By cherishing and preserving the natural wonders that already exist, we can ensure that future generations have the opportunity to find solace, inspiration, and joy in the unspoiled beauty of our planet.

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Extreme sports tourism

In managing global tourism.

Extreme sports tourism involves traveling to participate in high-risk, adrenaline-pumping activities such as bungee jumping, rock climbing, surfing, or skydiving. This form of tourism is often driven by a desire for adventure, personal challenge, and the thrill of experiencing extreme environments, which can significantly influence the decision-making process for potential travelers.

congrats on reading the definition of Extreme sports tourism . now let's actually learn it.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

• Extreme sports tourism has grown significantly in recent years as more travelers seek unique and thrilling experiences over traditional leisure activities.
• Participants in extreme sports often prioritize their motivations, such as seeking excitement, pushing personal limits, and socializing with like-minded individuals.
• Destinations that offer extreme sports activities often capitalize on natural landscapes, like mountains or oceans, to provide the perfect backdrop for adrenaline-filled adventures.
• Safety measures and risk management practices are critical in extreme sports tourism to mitigate potential dangers while still delivering exhilarating experiences.
• Marketing strategies for extreme sports tourism frequently emphasize the transformative nature of these activities, appealing to consumers' desires for adventure and personal growth.

Review Questions

• Motivations play a key role in the decision-making process for tourists interested in extreme sports. Travelers are often driven by factors such as the desire for adventure, the thrill of new experiences, and the challenge of personal limits. These motivations can lead them to seek specific destinations known for their extreme sports offerings, ultimately influencing where they choose to travel and participate in these activities.
• Risk perception is crucial in understanding why individuals choose to engage in extreme sports tourism. While these activities involve inherent risks, many participants are willing to embrace them due to their motivations for excitement and adventure. The way individuals assess risks can differ significantly; some may view these activities as thrilling challenges, while others may feel apprehensive. This relationship affects how destinations market themselves and how operators design safety protocols to attract tourists.
• Extreme sports tourism can have a profound impact on local economies by generating revenue through increased tourist spending on accommodations, meals, and equipment rentals. This influx can help create jobs within the community, fostering economic growth. However, it's essential to consider sustainability practices and community involvement to ensure that such tourism benefits local residents while preserving natural resources and environments. Balancing these aspects is crucial for long-term community development amid the growing demand for extreme sports experiences.

Related terms

Adventure tourism : A type of tourism that involves exploration or travel to remote areas, often characterized by physical activity and a focus on outdoor experiences.

Risk perception : The subjective judgment that people make regarding the characteristics and severity of a risk associated with an activity or situation.

Motivation theory : A psychological framework that seeks to explain the reasons behind individuals' choices and behaviors, particularly in relation to their needs and desires.

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The  AVM  Theory

Individuality makes us different, respect brings us together.

• Shreya Sangal
• Jul 17, 2023

The Deadly Delight of Extreme Tourism: Balancing Thrills, Risks, and Responsibility

In the pursuit of adventure and thrill, how far are we willing to go, even at the cost of our life?

On 18th June 2023, tragedy struck when the Titan submersible imploded, leading to the death of five people on board an expedition to witness the remains of the Titanic shipwreck. Despite the risks and dangers involved, extreme tourism is gaining popularity day by day.

Extreme tourism, also known as shock tourism, is a form of travel that is characterised by adventure and even physical danger. Extreme tourists visit places considered extremely unsafe due to physical or political reasons. It is a small but growing part of adventure tourism that became popular during the Covid lockdown. Whether it's visiting the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine, travelling to space like Jeff Bezos, or trekking on an active volcano, extreme tourism offers an adrenaline rush caused by the element of risk.

Extreme tourism comes at an exorbitant price and is sought-after by the wealthy. Passengers on the Titanic wreckage expedition paid a whopping $250,000 per person. In a world plagued by poverty, war, and destruction, it is disheartening to see the wealthy squandering enormous amounts of money on extreme tourism, even though it puts their lives on the line. Before embarking on their journey, the passengers had to sign a waiver that prominently mentioned the word "death" thrice on the first page. Ironically, these life-threatening risks seem to attract customers rather than dissuade them.

In conclusion, this deadly form of tourism should prioritise safety and ensure zero risk of fatalities. Extreme tourism that poses a possibility of injury or death should be banned for the sake of humanity.

Richard Garriott, president of the Explorers Club, rightly said, "While we should all appreciate efforts to innovate and push the boundaries of exploration, this must be done safely and sensibly.”

#ExtremeTourism #TitanSubmersible #ShockTourism #SocialIssues #RiskVsReward

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Extreme tourism

What is extreme tourism? Picture Extreme environment tourism involves dangerous landscapes often with a difficult climate, and remote places that are sparsely settled or not occupied at all. Increasing numbers of tourists are attracted to extreme environments where they can take part in adventurous activities such as rock climbing, paragliding and white-water rafting.

Extreme environments are spread across the globe and cover a wide range of locations including mountains, deserts, rainforests, caves and ice covered terrain. Adventure activities involve an element of risk and people often chose such a trip for the adrenaline rush. Examples include ice-diving in the White Sea, north Russia, with almost freezing temperatures, and travelling across the Chernobyl Zone of Alienation in Ukraine, the area devastated by nuclear contamination in 1986. In Jamaica such activities include climbing waterfalls and cliff-diving. Adventure tourism is one of the fastest-growing types of tourism in the world. The target market Picture Adventure tourists look for physical challenges and risk. They are often around 30 years old, unmarried and without children, have high-powered jobs and a god income – these trips are expensive. Groups are small and distances great. However, there are enough wealthy individuals with a taste for something completely different to allow this sector to grow. It will never be large but in some areas it is increasing in significance. Most companies advertise on the internet rather than by brochure.

Little investment is needed to set up such trips. The usual costly expenses of building hotels and roads are irrelevant. Part of the experience is to sleep ‘rough’ and travel over untouched landscapes. This tourism sector is growing rapidly in Peru, Chile, Argentina, Azerbaijan and Pakistan. Northern Pakistan is one of the most mountainous and difficult landscapes in the world and even its risky political situation as the base of Al Qaeda terrorists adds a thrill for some. Antarctica Small-scale tourism began in Antarctica in the 1950s when commercial shipping began to take a few passengers. The first specially designed cruise ship made its first voyage in 1969. Some 9,000 tourists in 1992-93 have now grown to 37,000 in 2006-7 and to 46,000 in 2007-8. This is thousands more than the scientific workers and their support staff who are there temporarily for research purposes. Over 100 tourist companies are involved. In 2006, 38.9% of visitors were American, 15.4% British, 10.3% German and 8.4% Australian.

Tourists from the northern hemisphere usually fly to New Zealand or Argentina, taking their cruise ship onwards for one or two weeks. Smaller boats take them ashore at key locations for short visits, mainly to the peninsula or nearby islands.

Attractions: Wildlife Scenery Small boat cruising Aircraft flight climbing camping walking helicopter flight ice landing kayaking snowboarding ship cruises scuba diving skiing Picture Picture Problems The environmental impact of an individual tourist is much greater than that of a researcher. Landing sites are chosen for a special feature, so they quickly become honeypots. More than 99% of Antarctica is covered with ice, so little is left for tourist activity. Few visitors go on the ice.

Tourists only spend a short time ashore, but the impacts do not always reflect this. They want to visit the most picturesque and wildlife-rich areas. The impact is uneven but in places too great. Animals, especially penguins and seals, are disturbed by more than a few people. Not used to humans, they do not like to be touched. If they leave as a result, they may abandon eggs and young.

There have been accidents when ships have struck uncharted rocks or ice floes. The great majority of shipping in Antarctic waters is tourist-based. Oil spills are becoming an increasing hazard for wildlife. Tourist ships must discharge all waste materials well away from the shore of Antarctica. Solutions All tour operators are members of IAATO, which directs tourism to be safe and environmentally friendly. Around 100 companies are involved. In line with the Antarctic Treaty, tourism is an acceptable activity in Antarctica – it is the scale that has to be controlled. Visitors are not allowed to visit Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in order to conserve precious wildlife and landscapes. Bird Island on South Georgia is one example.

Although tourist numbers have increased rapidly in Antarctica, protection remains a priority. A permit must be gained for any activities on the continent. No ship carrying over 500 passengers can land in Antarctica. Never the less, there is concern that larger ships will eventually be allowed to land and that the volume of tourists will be beyond sustainable limits.

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The Wild World of Extreme Tourism for Billionaires

It was less than an hour off the coast of Greenland that Jules Mountain began to question his sanity. The British entrepreneur was completing the second leg of his eight-day attempt to become the first person to fly a Bell 505 light helicopter across the Atlantic. “I had to go over freezing fog at 14,500 feet or ice would build up on the vehicle’s blades,” he says. “It was -14 degrees Celsius and the high altitude meant I was gasping for air. And then I worked out I had 30 minutes’ worth of fuel remaining.”

Mountain was flying the helicopter from Montreal to Guernsey: a nearly 4,000-mile journey that included fuel stops in the frozen wastelands of Northern Canada, Greenland, and Iceland. He says he took on the challenge when he realized the helicopter’s range was 350 miles and that it could fly only three hours at a time. It meant his longest leg required pumping fuel mid-flight.

“My previous goal was to trek to the North Pole, but it felt too easy,” says Mountain. “It didn’t feel dangerous enough: You could get rescued at any moment. Whereas with this challenge, flying over icebergs and forests far from civilization, an engine failure might mean death. And that’s when the adrenaline rush hits—it’s when you feel most alive.”

Mountain, who has also summited Everest, is one of many businesspeople taking on extreme adventures around the world. British billionaire Hamish Harding and Pakistani British executive Shahzada Dawood were among the passengers aboard the Titan submersible that disappeared in the North Atlantic Ocean on June 18. Operated by OceanGate, a US company that builds and launches manned submersibles, Titan was part of a tourist expedition to observe the wreckage of the Titanic at a depth of about 12,500 feet.

On June 22, remains from Titan were located by a remote-controlled underwater search vehicle about 500 meters from the wreckage of the Titanic , roughly 370 miles off the coast of Newfoundland. The US Coast Guard believes all five passengers died following a catastrophic implosion .

The extreme tourism industry is niche, but growing. A swelling number of companies have emerged to facilitate dangerous adventures for the super-rich. OceanGate began offering trips aboard Titan to the site of the Titanic wreckage in 2021; seats on the latest, ill-fated trip cost $250,000 per person. However, safety concerns were raised as early as 2018, during Titan ’s quality-control stage, including questions about the 6.7-meter vessel’s experimental carbon-fiber hull structure (typically, deep-diving subs have hulls made from metal) and lack of industry certification. Past passengers have also shared details of problems with communication, navigation, and buoyancy during their 12-hour round trip to the Titanic .

With such extreme adventures, the work of operators is naturally risky. Seattle-based mountaineer Garret Madison offers bespoke expeditions to unnamed, unclimbed Himalayan peaks through his company, Madison Mountaineering. He explains that the average Everest death rate is 1 percent—a higher figure than for US service members in recent conflicts. “It’s the exhilaration of being on the mountain and coming face-to-face with danger that’s so attractive.”

Since the pandemic, Madison has noticed an uptick in high-net-worth individuals booking out entire expeditions. “One client bought a whole trip to climb Mount Vinson in Antarctica for $200,000 last year,” he says. “It’s the latest trend: billionaires wanting their own private adventure with friends; they fly to Antarctica in a private jet. It’s next-level.”

Although his mountain expeditions are high-end, Madison says they come with minimum comfort. The greatest luxury he offers, he adds, is at Everest base camp: Warm showers, yoga sessions, and a dining tent with a movie screen are among the amenities on the $75,000 excursion. “The guys that come on my adventures ultimately want to suffer a little bit—that’s how they feel alive. Otherwise, they’d be staying at a Four Seasons five-star resort somewhere.”

However, a cottage industry of luxury extreme tourism also exists. White Desert Antarctica offers premium accommodation near the South Pole for $15,000 a night, replete with heated, opulently furnished pods and private chefs. Harding had also done that trip. “Hamish has been a true friend to White Desert for many years,” founder Patrick Woodhead said in a statement. “He has traveled with us to Antarctica a number of times, including with astronaut Buzz Aldrin when he visited.”

With these extreme tourism companies, safety generally comes with a high price tag. Madison says his service offers networks of expert guides and logistical know-how, as well as Western and Sherpa teams that coach, assist, and lead adventurers 8,000 meters above sea level. Extra oxygen, good food, and enhanced communications are also provided. “But you can do Everest cheaply and climb with your own tent and without a guide,” says Mountain. “There are plenty of operators that offer a rudimentary service—and that’s when it can get really dangerous. You’re left on your own.”

OceanGate appears to have had its feet in both camps. As the sole tourist operator providing trips to see the Titanic —and Titan one of only a handful of manned submersibles capable of reaching 12,500-foot depths—tickets weren’t cheap. At the same time, conditions inside the sub were far from luxurious, and the dive carried considerable risks. OceanGate’s waiver not only mentions death three times on page one , Titan was bolted from the outside—leaving those inside to survive on a finite amount of oxygen and rely on external support to get out of the sub, even after surfacing. The vessel was also controlled by a modified video game controller. “No one going on board would have been under any illusions that it was safe,” says Mountain. “That’s part of the appeal: The wreck is incredibly inaccessible, dangerous to visit, and steeped in mythology. And very few people have done it.”

Grace Lordan, associate professor in behavioral science at the London School of Economics, says these dangerous expeditions have superseded luxury items for thrill-seeking entrepreneurs. “Pleasure and purpose tend to determine happiness, and it used to be about material purchases and philanthropy. Over time, redistributing wealth still provides purpose, but pleasure is harder to attain.”

Ego is also a factor, says Lordan. “Luxury products are more available to the masses now. And we all want better dinner party anecdotes. So entrepreneurs, who tend to have a higher tolerance for risk, are increasingly desiring experiences that very few others have done.” They’ve already achieved the extraordinary feat of establishing major companies, Lordan explains, so now they want to push themselves in their personal lives.

These throwback explorations—climbing a mountain or crossing the ocean—are also a way for billionaires, many of whom have accumulated their wealth through digital transactions, to experience their physical limits in the face of mortal danger.

“The demographic is mostly men in their fifties and sixties, looking to feel alive,” says Madison. “They want to traverse the Khumbu Icefall or the northern ridge of Everest’s death zone, rather than just sitting behind a desk and watching their net worth accumulate on a screen. The closer you perceive death, the more alive you feel.”

Mountain completed his transatlantic helicopter flight in July 2020. It was a self-organized trip, during the height of the pandemic, arranged through the Canadian, Danish, and Icelandic authorities. As a pilot, he was exempt from Covid-19 restrictions. “It was a bonkers idea, but being an entrepreneur means being very driven: You want to push boundaries and prove you’re in a different capacity to others. And it was such a rush—when I reached Scotland I knew it was the home straight, I was celebrating.”

The Titan tragedy underlines the reality that, by their nature, these kinds of extreme adventures mean dicing with death. But therein lies the appeal. “These challenges will always come with risk,” says Mountain. “Otherwise, everyone would be doing them.”

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Dark tourism: when tragedy meets tourism

The likes of Auschwitz, Ground Zero and Chernobyl are seeing increasing numbers of visitors, sparking the term 'dark tourism'. But is it voyeuristic or educational?

Days after 71 people died in a London tower block fire last June, something strange started to happen in the streets around it. Posters, hastily drawn by members of the grieving community of Grenfell Tower, appeared on fences and lamp posts in view of the building's blackened husk.

'Grenfell: A Tragedy Not A Tourist Attraction,' one read, adding — sarcastically — a hashtag and the word 'selfies'. As families still searched for missing inhabitants of the 24-storey block, and the political shock waves were being felt through the capital, people had started to arrive in North Kensington to take photos. Some were posing in selfie mode.

"It's not the Eiffel Tower," one resident told the BBC after the posters attracted the attention of the press. "You don't take a picture." Weeks later, local people were dismayed when a coachload of Chinese tourists pulled up nearby so that its occupants could get out and take photos.

Grenfell Tower, which still dominates the surrounding skyline (it's due to be demolished in late 2018), had become a site for 'dark tourism', a loose label for any sort of tourism that involves visiting places that owe their notoriety to death, disaster, an atrocity or what can also loosely be termed 'difficult heritage'.

It's a phenomenon that's on the rise as established sites such as Auschwitz and the September 11 museum in Manhattan enjoy record visitor numbers. Meanwhile, demand is rising among those more intrepid dark tourists who want to venture to the fallout zones of Chernobyl and Fukushima, as well as North Korea and Rwanda. In Sulawesi, Indonesia, Western tourists wielding GoPros pay to watch elaborate funeral ceremonies in the Toraja region, swapping notes afterwards on TripAdvisor.

Along the increasingly crowded dark-tourist trail, academics, tour operators and the residents of many destinations are asking searching questions about the ethics of modern tourism in an age of the selfie and the Instagram hashtag. When Pompeii, a dark tourist site long before the phrase existed, found itself on the Grand Tour of young European nobility in the 18th century, dozens of visitors scratched their names into its excavated walls. Now we leave our mark in different ways, but where should we draw the boundaries?

Questions like these have become the life's work of Dr Philip Stone , perhaps the world's leading academic expert on dark tourism. He has a background in business and marketing, and once managed a holiday camp in Scotland. But a fascination with societal attitudes to mortality led to a PhD in thanatology, the study of death, and a focus on tourism.

"I'm not even a person who enjoys going to these places," Stone says from the University of Central Lancashire, where he runs the Institute for Dark Tourism Research. "But what I am interested in is the way people face their own mortality by looking at other deaths of significance. Because we've become quite divorced from death yet we have this kind of packaging up of mortality in the visit economy which combines business, sociology, psychology under the banner of dark tourism. It's really fascinating to shine a light on that."

Historical roots

The term 'dark tourism' is far newer than the practice, which long predates Pompeii's emergence as a morbid attraction. Stone considers the Roman Colosseum to be one of the first dark tourist sites, where people travelled long distances to watch death as sport. Later, until the late 18th century, the appeal was starker still in central London, where people paid money to sit in grandstands to watch mass executions. Hawkers would sell pies at the site, which was roughly where Marble Arch   stands today.

It was only in 1996 that 'dark tourism' entered the scholarly lexicon when two academics in Glasgow applied it while looking at sites associated with the assassination of JFK. Those who study dark tourism identify plenty of reasons for the growing phenomenon, including raised awareness of it as an identifiable thing. Access to sites has also improved with the advent of cheap air travel. It's hard to imagine that the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial and museum would now welcome more than two million visitors a year (an average of almost 5,500 a day, more than two-thirds of whom travel to the Polish site from other countries in Europe) were it not for its proximity to Krakow's international airport.

Peter Hohenhaus, a widely travelled dark tourist based in Vienna, also points to the broader rise in off-the-beaten track tourism, beyond the territory of popular guidebooks and TripAdvisor rankings. "A lot of people don't want mainstream tourism and that often means engaging with places that have a more recent history than, say, a Roman ruin," he says. "You go to Sarajevo and most people remember the war being in the news so it feels closer to one's own biography."

Hohenhaus is also a fan of 'beauty in decay', the contemporary cultural movement in which urban ruins have become subject matter for expensive coffee-table books and a thousand Instagram accounts. The crossover with death is clear. "I've always been drawn to derelict things," the 54-year-old says. As a child in Hamburg, he would wonder at the destruction of war still visible around the city's harbour.

That childhood interest has developed into an obsession; Hohenhaus has visited 650 dark tourist sites in 90 countries, logging them all and more besides on his website . He has plans to put together the first dark tourism guidebook. His favourite holiday destination today is Chernobyl and its 'photogenic' ghost town. "You get to time travel back into the Soviet era but also into an apocalyptic future," he says. He also enjoys being emotionally challenged by these places. "I went to Treblinka in 2008 and heard the story of a teacher at an orphanage in Warsaw who was offered a chance to escape but refused and went with his children to the gas chambers. Stories like that are not everyday, you mull over them. Would you have done that?"

But while, like any tourism, dark tourism at its best is thought-provoking and educational, the example of Grenfell Tower hints at the unease felt at some sites about what can look like macabre voyeurism. "I remember the Lonely Planet Bluelist book had a chapter about dark tourism a while ago and one of the rules was 'don't go back too early'," Hohenhaus says. "But that's easier said than calculated. You have to be very aware of reactions and be discreet when you're not in a place with an entrance fee and a booklet." Hohenhaus said he had already thought about Grenfell Tower and admits he would be interested to see it up close. "It's big, it's dramatic, it's black and it's a story you've followed in the news," he says. "I can see the attraction. But I would not stand in the street taking a selfie."

A mirror to mortality

An urge to see and feel a place that has been reduced to disaster shorthand by months of media coverage is perhaps understandable, but Stone is most interested in the draw — conscious or otherwise — of destinations that hold up a mirror to our own mortality. "When we touch the memory of people who've gone what we're looking at is ourselves," he says. "That could have been us in that bombing or atrocity. We make relevant our own mortality." That process looks different across cultures — and generations — and Stone says we should take this into account before despairing of selfie takers at Grenfell Tower or Auschwitz.

"I've heard residents at Grenfell welcoming visitors because it keeps the disaster in the public realm, but they didn't like people taking photos because it's a visual reminder that you're a tourist and therefore somehow defunct of morality," he explains. "We're starting to look at selfies now. Are they selfish?" Stone argues that the language of social media means we no longer say "I was here", but "I am here — see me". He adds: "We live in a secular society where morality guidelines are increasingly blurred. It's easy for us to say that's right or wrong, but for many people it's not as simple as that."

"Travel itself is innately voyeuristic," argues Simon Cockerel, the general manager of Koryo Tours , a North Korea specialist based in Beijing. Cockerel, who has lived in China for 17 years and joined Koryo in 2002, says demand has grown dramatically for trips to Pyongyang and beyond, from 200 people a year in the mid 1990s, when the company started, to more than 5,000 more recently. He has visited the country more than 165 times and says some clients join his tours simply to bag another country, and some for bragging rights. But the majority have a genuine interest in discovering a country — and a people — beyond the headlines.

"I've found everyone who goes there to be sensitive and aware of the issues," he says. "The restrictions do create a framework for it to be a bit like a theme park visit but we work hard to blur those boundaries. More than 25 million people live in North Korea, and 24.99 million of them have nothing to do with what we read in the news and deserve to be seen as people not as zoo animals or lazy caricatures."

More challenging recently has been the US ban on its citizens going to North Korea, imposed last summer after the mysterious death of Otto Warmbier. The American student had been arrested in Pyongyang after being accused of trying to steal a propaganda poster. Americans made up about 20% of Koryo's business, but Cockerel argues the greater loss is to mutual perception in the countries. "The North Korean government represent Americans as literal wolves with sharpened nails," he says. "At least a few hundred Americans going there was a kind of bridgehead against that. Now that's gone."

At Grenfell Tower, responsible tourism may yet serve to keep alive the memory of the disaster, just as it does, after a dignified moratorium, at Auschwitz and the former Ground Zero. Hohenhaus says he will resist the urge to go until some sort of memorial is placed at the site of the tower. At around the time of a commemorative service at St Paul's Cathedral six months after the fire, there were calls for the site eventually to be turned into a memorial garden. The extent to which Hohenhaus and other dark tourists are welcomed will be decided by the people still living there.

Five of the world's dark tourism sites

1. North Korea Opened to visitors in the late 1980s, North Korea now attracts thousands of tourists each year for a peek behind the headlines.

2. Auschwitz-Birkenau The former Nazi death camp became a memorial in 1947 and a museum in 1955. It's grown since and in 2016 attracted a record two million visitors.

3. 9/11 Memorial and Museum Built in the crater left by the twin towers of the World Trade Center, the museum, opened in 2014, has won plaudits for its portrayal of a disaster and its impact.

4. Rwanda Visitor numbers to genocide memorials have grown in Cambodia and Bosnia as well as in Rwanda, where there are several sites dedicated to the 1994 massacre of up to a million people. The skulls of victims are displayed.

5. Chernobyl & Pripyat, Ukraine Several tour companies exist to send visitors to the exclusion zone and ghost town left otherwise empty after the nuclear accident in 1986. All are scanned for radiation as they leave.

Published in the March 2018 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK)

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Guide to Extreme Tourism: Definition, Planning Tips, and Destinations

Extreme tourism is becoming much more popular with travelers young and old, but what is it and how do you get involved? Read on to find out more about this fun way to travel and see the world in our guide.

What Is Extreme Tourism?

Do you crave adventure? Do you grow restless when you are resting on a beach? Extreme tourism may be what you are looking for. With this type of vacation, you are visiting somewhere on a quest for adventure, to try new things, and to see and experience places that few tourists ever go to. The extreme element may be defined by the destination itself or the activities you are going to do when you get there.

You could argue that a skiing vacation is a type of extreme tourism, but this would be at the milder end of the spectrum. For extreme holiday activities, think of whitewater rafting, crossing a desert on a long hike, or diving with Great White Sharks . The destination can make a vacation extreme. Some people may visit a country in a state of conflict, or far off the beaten track of civilization where they will have to make a number of compromises on comfort.

How Do You Plan An Extreme Vacation?

Extreme tourism requires a bit of extra preparation compared to a standard or typical trip away. Depending upon your chosen destination, you may need to consult your family doctor before traveling. Many destinations that are far away from typical vacation spots require medications, such as anti-malaria drugs, before you make the trip.

You may need to practice an extreme activity closer to home and get some experience with any related equipment or safety rules before making your journey. If you need to learn some new skills for your adventure or gain experience in activities, it is best to do it in your home country and not wait until you get to your destination.

You can experience some thrills from home and maybe boost your travel budget before you go. Try your luck playing online at an online casino to experience some fun and excitement and perhaps win a little extra cash to help fund your travels. This is a great way to get in the mood for your adventure.

The best piece of extreme vacation you can make is to contact a specialist travel agent. Their experience and list of contacts can help you find the perfect vacation for your adventurous spirit and save money too. They can also help you to research different potential destinations to find the right one for you that ticks all your extreme vacation boxes.

Where Do You Go For Extreme Adventures?

The world is filled with extreme vacation destinations and activities if you know where to look. You will struggle to find them at the average travel agent or online on the usual travel sites. These places are filled with prepackaged vacations for people looking for two weeks on the beach. You have other plans.

You may need to cross the globe to find your ideal extreme vacation destination, or it may be closer than you think. For a whirlwind adventure from home, you can visit an online casino for some fun thrills and online games. If you are looking for a truly extreme and visceral experience, consider one of these two options.

Storm chasing in Oklahoma or Colorado in the United States is not far away and easy to arrange. Both of these places experience ‘twisters’ throughout the year that are among the planet’s most extreme weather events. There are organized tours you can join, or you can go out on your own if you are feeling really confident.

The furthest away you can travel is an extreme adventure on its own. Cruises to Antarctica are seasonal but well worth waiting for. The Southern Seas can get rough and icy, which gives them an extreme element. When you arrive at your destination, you will be one of a small fraction of the world’s human population to visit Antarctica. You can engage in some extreme activities here too, like diving in the coastal waters to see the unique underwater wildlife that inhabits this area.

If you are looking for a little bit more from your vacation time, consider going on an extreme vacation. Do not push yourself too far at first and build things up slowly, year after year. In just a few short years, you could be climbing Mount Everest or diving with sharks in Australia.

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