Ukraine has been at war for more than 1,000 days, but there are people who cannot fully understand this when they see images of buildings riddled with bullets, streets blown up by bombs, destroyed bridges, cemeteries and piles of rusty cars and tanks. see the scars of war; What you see is the perfect place to spend your next holiday.

This phenomenon is not entirely new. There is so-called “tourism” darkness“This is already well known, and Ukraine has been welcoming travelers for years to visit Chernobyl, near Pripyat, the site of the nuclear disaster 38 years ago.

A country at war? Yes, but it is also a tourist destination. When Ukraine is mentioned, there are those who see destroyed buildings, collapsed bridges, fronts full of bullets, and in general, more than the traces of war. They also see a tourist attraction. They are not strangers to war, they are far from it. In fact, what draws them to cities such as Kiev and its suburbs, Kharkiv or Bucha, which are unfortunately associated with the Russian occupation, are the traces of a conflict that they have been following from their own country for almost three years, through newspapers and television.

A network for “dark” travelers. The phenomenon of “tourism” darkness“Various international media outlets in Ukraine have been following him for months. In August, a British newspaper published an article about him. Telegram and was repeated by the France24o Hong Kong newspaper in recent weeks South China Morning Post. Their data serves to gain insight into the interesting network of supply and demand for “tourism” darkness“—it goes by other names, such as “dark tourism,” “pain tourism,” or thanatotourism built around the Russian occupation.

In general, they talk about a dozen Ukrainian agencies tasked with facilitating the experience of tourists and organizing tours to places that make headlines precisely because of the war, such as Bucha or Irpín.

Prices for these experiences range from 150 to 250 euros, but there are companies willing to take more risks, get closer to the front and offer a multi-day visit to the south of the country for much higher prices, reaching 3,300 euros. in august Telegram He cited a special case of a one-week “combat tour” package selling for £3,000, the equivalent of around 3,600 euros at the current exchange rate.

So is there demand? Yes, it is not mass tourism, but it stimulates an interesting flow of travelers. France Press specifically mentions a company called War Tours, which has hosted around 30 clients, mostly European and American, since the beginning of the year. Moreover, its correspondents spoke with many tourists who had recently traveled to bomb-ravaged parts of Ukraine.

One of them was a 34-year-old woman who worked at a technology company in New York and traveled to Kharkiv in July. Another is a 23-year-old Spanish software engineer who recorded his trip to Ukraine and shared it on his YouTube channel. Here there are already chronicles about the “most terrible psychiatric hospital” in the USA or the “most dangerous border” in America. World. To reach his destination in Ukraine, he first had to fly to Moldova and travel an 18-hour route by train. All this while ignoring his family’s advice.

Another way to travel. At this point, the real question is obvious… What makes them tick? What makes them spend their money and holidays traveling to places marked by horror, shaken by war, and where they may even risk their lives?

Stephan, a 29-year-old German who visited Bucha in August 2022, just a few months after the withdrawal of Russian troops, recently admitted: Telegram Those who want to see the effects of the Ukrainian war with their own eyes after reading about them in the press. This and showing this to others. He also has a YouTube channel where he posts videos of his trips to places as diverse as Afghanistan, Japan and North Korea.

I’m looking for strong emotions. The 34-year-old American woman, who managed to visit the Kharkiv region, shaken by the bombings of the Russian army, this summer admits, “I just wanted to see it because I thought our life in the West was too comfortable and easy.” Moreover, if he could not get close to the front during his tour, it was because the guide accompanying him refused to do so.

In his case, the choice of destination seems to be accompanied by an interest in strong emotions. “Jumping out of planes, partying all night and punching people wasn’t my thing anymore. What’s the next best thing? Visiting a war zone,” he admits. SCMP.

“Like a vaccine”. Another equally or even more relevant question arises: to what extent are such trips ethically acceptable? Are they motivated by curiosity, a desire to know, a desire to be a first-person witness, or illness? Are the euros spent on his travels another way to make the war profitable, a business created at the expense of the suffering of the Ukrainian people?

Svitozar Moiseiv, manager of Capital Tours Kyiv company, expresses the situation differently. In addition to ensuring that the profits generated by the business are negligible, organizing such trips serves, in his view, as a “vaccination”, a way to make the horrors of war visible and “prevent it from happening again”. Another organization, which claims that some of the profits from “dark tourism” are donated to the military, agrees, saying: “It’s about commemorating the war.” There are many who think this is just another way to generate income for local communities.

“Why do they want to see our pain?” This statement was captured by AFP and reflects that not all Ukrainians view tourists fascinated by war scenes in the same light. “There are allegations: ‘Why are they coming here?’ ‘Why do they want to see our suffering?'” Mkhailyna Skoryk-Shkarivska, council member of Irin and former mayor of Bucha, explains to the agency by relaying conversations she heard among her neighbors. For some, the money left over from “thanatotourism” is “blood money”.

At a time when war is still shaking the country and the future is uncertain, there does not seem to be a common answer in any case on how to assimilate “tourism”. darkness“. “I am one of the many Ukrainians who are used to war, so it does not bother me that there are tourists who want to see what is happening here. The main idea is to share your experiences with them and help them learn more about the war,” says Dmytro Nykyforovo, 33, who had to flee Kiev and is affiliated with War Tours.

Glamorous yes, new no. It may be surprising that there are still travelers willing to spend 18 hours on the train to visit places destroyed by a bloody war, but the truth is that the tourism industry has long known the appeal of tragedy. And the older the more. “Tourism” as a result of illness or curiosity, an unhealthy interest or a sincere historical fascination darkness“It has been inundated with visitors for some time. University of Melbourne Criminology professor Julieta Rogers analyzed this in depth in a magazine article a few months ago. Speech.

“‘Tourism’ darkness‘ has become a phenomenon with its own website and expert tourist guides. People visit these places to mourn or to commemorate and honor the dead. But sometimes they just want to look, sometimes they want to enjoy the suffering of others,” the researcher notes, before citing examples such as the flow of visitors to Auschwitz-Birkenau, the Twin Towers memorial, the prison where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned, and even points in the war-marked Gaza Strip. was placed.

Gaza to Thailand. “Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas military attacks, in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage, celebrities and tourists have visited sites related to the Nova festival and the Nir Oz kibbutz in Palestine/Israel,” says Rogers, adding that even kibbutz visits guided by former residents He recalled that it was done and that it “allowed people to see the homes of the dead and be guided by them, to see photographs and be guided by them.” bullet holes.”

Among the examples cited by the Australian teacher is the “popular” combat tour in Donbass. He’s not the only one. in spring World Published an equally fascinating report about something strange? An incident recorded in the area around Salad Beach, Thailand: Sudden interest in the facility led to the alleged crime of Daniel Sancho, a media case that received international coverage.

When the murder was committed, the nightly rate was 15 euros. Months later and after the crime, the rate was much higher: over 70. At least according to the data announced by the newspaper in May.

There is nothing new in Ukraine. This admiration is not new for Ukraine. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which occurred in 1986, attracted the attention of thousands of visitors. By the time a Kiev court decided in 2011 to ban tours in the affected area, the restricted area was hosting around 6,000 visitors who sneak in illegally every year. Telegram It is stated that more than 70,000 people visited the region devastated in the accident in 2021, and a record number of nearly 125,000 was reached in 2019.

“War tourists” are not the only ones coming to Ukraine, which recorded a heavy influx of foreign visitors last year, according to data from the director of the National Tourism Development Agency. Of course, the vast majority had little to do with leisure: these were business trips.

Pictures | UNDP Ukraine (Flickr) 1, 2 and 3 and Tommaso Pecchioli (Unsplash)

in Xataka | Young tourists from China started visiting random places en masse. There is an explanation: Xiaohongshu