Presumptions for developing dark tourism in Lithuania

Introduction Dark tourism is a growing niche area of study, and this work seeks to provide a framework to better understand developing dark tourism in Lithuania and aspects of it. Dark tourism is a topic of increasing interest, but it is poorly understood when considering its significance for mainstream and commercial tourism. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significance of dark tourism in the top ten most visited European tourist cities and propose a dark tourism index for Europe s tourism cities. Dark tourism is considered an emerging niche within special interest tourism. Dark tourism has a considerable internet presence with approximately 4 million hit in December 2019. The number of presumptions for developing in dark tourism is also growing at a more increasing rate defined “dark tourism as the act of travel to sites associated with death, suffering and the seemingly macabre”. Presumptions for developing have observed dark tourism in various forms such as prison tourism, fright tourism, genocide tourism, grief tourism, disaster tourism, favela tourism, pagan tourism, suicide tourism and atomic tourism. Tourism literature argues that tourists visiting dark tourism have a unique kind of experiences towards the destination. Their motives for expediting the destination range from curiosity, moral duty, obligation, a remembrance to honor and education. Such expereince of dark tourism creates a distinction of value perceived by tourists visiting such destination. Value is the relationship between the perception of receiving something useful and relinquishing the less useful. Thus, understanding the way in which tourist perceive value in dark tourism is an important research agenda. This is because value concept emphasizes on getting more and more from an act by paying less; however, the experience of a dark tourism touches the morality and emotions of a visitor. Therefore, in such a situation understanding the relationship between the two concepts i.e. value and dark tourism become important. The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of dark tourism in constructing narratives and stories which co-create and reinforce national identity. By focusing on the voice of the tourist and their consumer experience, we develop an understanding of youth behaviours and motivations associated with dark tourism and the effect of social influences in forming narratives. This empirical study comprises 20 interviews with young American dark tourist site visitors, 11 of whom were re-interviewed. The emic insights suggest dark tourism experiences can be used to (re)affirm individual roles, enhance feelings of national identity and co-create a self as well as a national identity. An etic conceptual model is proposed that is specifically designed for dark tourism sites. It provides a novel explanation of national identity co-creation and recognises the relationship between tourist motivation, experience and co-creation. Purpose - Dark tourism is a topic of increasing interest, but it is poorly understood when considering its significance for mainstream and commercial tourism. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significance of dark tourism in the top ten most visited European tourist cities and propose a dark tourism index for Europe s tourism cities. Design/methodology/approach - Data were collected from the websites of the cities Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) using a content analysis methodology, based on keywords related to dark tourism taken from the research literature in this area. Descriptive statistics were produced and the variance between the frequencies of keywords related to each city was analysed for statistical significance. These results were then used to construct a darkness ranking of the cities. Findings - There are significant differences in the extent to which dark tourism products and services are promoted by the DMOs of Europe s top ten most visited European cities. The ranking of cities by darkness does not correspond to the ranking by visitor numbers, and further qualitative analysis suggests that, that the ranking is also independent of the actual presence of dark sites within the destination. This implies that European city DMOs are engaging with the emerging dark tourism market with to varying degrees. Research limitations/implications - The purposive sample often cities can be extended in future research to increase the validity of the findings of this paper. A further limitation is the selection of keywords for content analysis, which have been developed following the literature review contained below. Future research could develop an extended list of keywords using a systematic review process. Practical implications - This paper shows that it is possible to create a ranking of tourist cities in terms of their darkness, and that this methodology could be extended to a much larger sample size. This links dark tourism research to the urban tourism literature and also offers possibilities for creating a global ranking that could be used by destinations to judge their success in engaging with the dark tourism market, as well as by tour operators seeking to develop products for the same market. Social implications - This paper will offer DMO s and others the opportunity to hone their tourism products more effectively in a way which offers a better understanding of tourism, and therefore provides for better management of its issues. Important to note is that the underlying theory for understanding dark tourism motivations as well as generating novel insights will be housed outside the boundaries of traditional tourism scholarship . As a consequence, the context for this study is broadly contained within the marketing domain. Interest in heritage from a marketing perspective can be located in the social and identity crisis experienced in contemporary society although a key point of differentiation between heritage tourism and dark tourism is that dark tourism is often associated with some type of atrocity. Dark tourism sites afford an opportunity to write or rewrite the history of people s lives and deaths, or to provide particular (political) interpretations of past events. Yet, how and in what ways these interpretations of dark tourist sites are then weaved into consumer narratives is under-researched. In this paper, we present an alternative way of thinking about dark tourism which explores its contribution to the collaborative creation of national identity. Our intention is to make a theoretical contribution to our understanding of the ways in which national identity and dark tourism are linked. This involves a consideration of the complex and sometimes contradictory positions that participants take when accounting for their dark tourism motivations and reflections. Tourism and consumer researchers have not attempted to understand tourists various dark tourism visitor behaviours and reactions in terms of national identity construction. Similarly, although the role and influence of tourism in national identity has been considered, the national identity literature has not explicitly looked at dark tourism as part of this phenomenon. The research reported in this paper aims to develop our understanding of the behaviours and motivations of dark tourism and the social influences and responses in creating narratives and stories which co-create and reinforce national identity. This article has the following structure. Initially, we review key topics and research findings regarding tourism and national identity through an overview of the relevant literature. Secondly, we detail the methods employed to address our research objectives. Third, we present our findings and propose our conceptual framework, showing how dark tourism facilitates the co-construction of national identities in different contexts. Theoretical contributions and suggestions for future research provide a conclusion to the paper. The aim of this work is to evaluate the specific case of Kaunas fortresses by analyzing the peculiarities of heritage adaptation for dark tourism. The thesis analyzes the phenomenon of dark tourism itself, the unique features of the dark heritage and possible ways of its application to mass consumption and the practical application of these theoretical principles in the management of Kaunas forts. The work is based on scientific literature, which deals with the problems of dark tourism, official information provided to visitors of fort VII and IX, statistics and results of quantitative survey. Tasks at work: 1. To introduce the phenomenon of dark tourism; 2. To analyze the preconditions of increased attractiveness of dark tourism and the related ethical aspect; 3. Define the concept of dark heritage and highlight its features; 4. To analyze the specifics of adapting dark heritage to tourism; 5. To review the situation of dark heritage in Lithuania; 6th fort.  6. To present the significance and current situation of Kaunas fortress forts as objects of dark heritage; 7. To investigate the activity of Kaunas forts VII and IX adapted for tourism and to compare it with the concepts of management of such heritage presented by the specialists of dark heritage. Structure of the thesis: The thesis consists of three main parts. The first structural part is devoted to presenting the very phenomenon of dark tourism, exploring its diversity and variety of forms. Although future work will focus on topical dark tourism trends such as war, holocaust tourism, a general overview of this phenomenon and its related social context is essential for understanding the specificities of the dark tourism phenomenon that has not yet been explored in Lithuania. This chapter also analyzes the preconditions for the popularity of dark tourism in modern society and the moral issues of the phenomenon. Methodology. The first two chapters of the third chapter use the descriptive analytical and comparative method for the analysis of theoretical literature in the first two parts and its practical application, considering the situation of Kaunas fortress forts. 1.Presumptions for developing dark tourism in Lithuania 1.1.Presumptions for developing dark tourism Dark tourism can be defined as tourism associated with the visitation of sites which have death, tragedy or suffering as an ingredient in the mix of visitor motivations in some way or other. Stone (2005) considered dark tourism to be an old concept in a new world. That is to say that the fascination with scenes of death and disaster is old and quite possibly universal, but what is new is the way in which there is a commercialised and functional tourism industry able to make very much more available to very many more people than was the case in the past. The definition of dark tourism is wide and varied. Smith (1998) argued that sites associated with war probably attract more visitors than any other single type of attraction. Dark tourism is a widespread and growing reality and it is an important factor when considering the supply and demand of sites and attractions. Lennon and Foley (2000) described the phenomenon of death-related activity and coined the term “dark tourism” to describe this observable and growing trend. Yan et al. (2016) reviewed a range of definitions and sub-definitions of this tourism activity and concluded that the phrase “dark tourism” itself is the most frequently applied term to describe it. Seaton (1996) described the same experience as “thanotourism”, acknowledging that it is not solely a recent occurrence, but has, in fact, ancient precedent. Blom (2000) was able to recognise an apparent subset within the motivations of so called dark tourists, and used the term “morbid tourism”. While much understanding of dark tourism can be obtained from this research. However, the prior researches have ignored the consumption dimension of dark tourism. Presumptions for developing found that tourists consumption experience is complicated by subjectivity, dynamism and intangibility. Tourism consumption experience in dark tourism incorporates a unique blend of tangible, objective and functional components as well as symbolic, emotional and subjective component. However, there is a scarcity of understanding of such experience in dark tourism. Specifically, the connection of consumption experience concepts such as value and satisfaction in dark tourism. Studying value in this context is important because value (i.e. benefits-costs) in dark tourism considers pain and suffering of the tragedy occurred at the destination. Dark tourists are curious about exploring the sites of disaster, grief, suffering, and death. Dark tourists are often discerning and demanding consumers. They visit some of the extreme, remote and painful environment to satisfy their novelty, emotional and tragic needs. Thus, understanding the dimensions of tourists consumptions value may have an important impact on improving the value perceived by tourists visiting dark tourism. 1.2.Tourist value in dark tourism Value is emerging as an important construct in consumer research especially in tourism. The sophistication of tourists may be one of the reasons for the rise in the significance of tourists value in tourism business. In dark tourism, the concept of value becomes more unique due to the nature of this tourism. As tourists seek to maximize value by obtaining more benefits and sacrificing less cost. However, the tourists visiting dark tourism are driven by the unique psychology to feel the pain and grief of past tragedy. Understanding the way in which these dark tourists perceive the concept of value in this niche tourism is an interesting research agenda. Traditional research viewed value as the functional relationship between benefits and costs. However, presumptions for developing argued that the multidimensional approach to value is more relevant to service experiences including tourism. This is because of the heterogeneity and complexity of consumption experience in tourism. Accordingly, this research considered a multidimensional framework in studying tourists value using functional value, value for money, social value, novelty value and emotional value. This would help in capturing the richness of tourists value in dark tourism. The phenomenon of national identity has provided a backdrop for debates about the nature of social bonds, individual affiliations and expressions of nationhood in a globalised word. National identity has a long history, and its nature and significance has changed with historical, political and other circumstances. Nationalism is not a sociologically natural phenomenon like tribalism or regionalism, but the result of the deliberate efforts of the dominant political power to form a single homogenous, nation from a multicultural, diverse population. Issues of national identity have taken on new significance in the context of globalisation, consumer culture, social media and the fragmentation of social structures. Beyond historical, geographical and social bonds, Anderson defines the nation itself as an imagined community , because the members of even the smallest nations will never know most of their fellow members. None of this literature however has examined the link between the perceptions of the national brand per se and the citizens experience of national identity. In addition to the research on the branding of nations, there have also been several presumptions for developing on the process of forming or reaffirming self and national identity via tourism. Important findings include those experiences at three heritage sites. The role of the intangible is further illustrated by one of the guides in the study of the Gettysburg site and its story by Chronis: As far as what brings people to Gettysburg, great deeds, something stays, bodies disappear [but] spirits linger, they consecrate the ground... our country is formed here; by this battle; what happened here . This case further illustrates how professional staging and the guides storytelling is not taken for granted by the visitors. While guides are conscious of the need to remind visitors of the scene in which they are in , their interaction can produce conflict which mainly arises from the perceived gap between tourists familiarity with pre-established narrative and their new encounters and stories heard during their visit. For example, finds disagreements that result from regionally based identification, as when individuals from either northern or southern states become over-supportive of the Union or the Confederate side. Such contestation may be expressed through the employment of historical events in heated dialogues between tourists and guides. He finally concludes that it is the poetic performance of the Gettysburg story that is highly responsible for the transformation of a bloody fratricide into a national narrative of unity; it is because of its co-constructed nature that Gettysburg is established as the birthplace of the American nation and its narrative becomes a myth of origins . While tourism clearly influences the creation of national identity, the relationship between national culture and the so-called World Culture is also instrumental to our understanding of what constitutes a national identity. National culture must also be a form of world culture, which depends on the capacity of the national culture to recreate a rooted tradition while appropriating foreign influences at the level of both culture and civilisation through necessarily complex processes of cross-fertilisation and reinterpretation. There is the paradox: how to become modern and to return to sources; how to revive an old, dormant civilization and take part in universal civilization . The past has a pervasive appeal and can be used to enhance concepts of the self or can reinforce bonds through a common experience. It is recognised that consumers seek experiences to confirm their social identities through a better understanding of their heritage and their nationhood. Dark tourism grew, so too did the labels by which it could be known. Considered phrases such as “disaster tourism”, “black spot tourism” and even “phoenix tourism” to be appropriate to communicate the central idea of dark tourism: it entails visitation to sites associated with death, suffering and tragedy. Commonly such visits are conducted with commemoration, education or entertainment in mind, meaning that much dark tourism research has been published within the heritage tourism literature. The attraction of death, disaster and the macabre promises to be a significant factor in the tourism sector worldwide, and in Europe in particular. Dark tourism offers the interested participant the chance to “gaze upon real or recreated death”. The fascination with scenes of tragedy is not unique to anyone set or group of tourists, but dark tourism, as yet, remains on the fringes of respectability: a number of authors have given consideration to “shades” of dark tourism which is to say that it is recognised that there is a continuum of “dark” touristic experiences, ranging from very mild excitation to the grim reality of the holocaust and terrorism, for example. It is often observed in the literature that dark tourism has a continuum of darkness. At the darkest end of that continuum, attractions are categorised largely on the basis of real, recent and actual suffering and death. There is often an educational and commemorative rationale which underpins the establishment of an attraction, very often being the authentic site of the suffering which is visited, such as at Auschwitz or the site of the Twin Towers in New York. Stone recognised that the connection with dark tourism at particular sites is fluid, and the relative darkness of each attraction lies along a continuum, ranging from the very dark (Auschwitz, for example) to the commodified, entertainment-based attraction, such as the London dungeon which represents gruesome torture as family entertainment. Europe has an abundance of dark tourism sites, both real and imagined which offer ample opportunities to experience dark tourism in all of these ways if so desired. However, they are rarely conceptualised as dark products, and as such categorisation of individual attractions is, at the moment, confused. This also means that whilst dark tourism is proving to be an effective draw for significant numbers of tourists, many sites are not considered in this dark context, and as such opportunities for capitalisation and exploitation of a valuable tourism resource are often overlooked. Identified that dark tourism as it is presented in a modern context is the product of the late modern world, and is intimately connected to the political, sociological, economic and technological landscape within which modern tourism products are made available. That is to say, whilst death and disaster have always had a universal appeal, the circumstances of modern media, accessibility and technology mean that interest in dark sites is at an unprecedented level, and the tourism industry should be capable of making every effort to provide a product which meets the demand for such dark experiences. The increasing consumerism of post-modern western societies has a tendency towards making such experiences much more entertainment based. Highlighted the “tacit moral opposition” between dark tourism and “light” tourism, with their negative and positive conations in terms of the motivations and values of the experiences involved, explaining how it possible, for example, for the relatives of the bereaved to visit sites of disaster to remember loved ones, or for non-dark tourists to admire architecturally significant buildings associated with dissonant heritage, without enjoying places of tragedy and death in a vicarious manner. Taylor (2006) examined tourism marketing in destinations that have recently suffered terrorist attacks and showed how Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) can promote tourism in the wake of an atrocity through marketing campaigns which aim to support local visitor economies, leading to tourism that is associated with “dark” sites, but which is not easily categorised as dark tourism when it does not involved “dark” motivations. 1.3.Dark tourism - an old concept The concept of dark tourism, however, is not a new one. Tourists have been drawn to battlefield sites, places of execution, tombs and other related sites for a very long time. Dark tourism as being the visitation of sites associated with death and disaster, something which dates from the Middle Ages at least. Also identified dark tourism as being an established practice as far back as the eleventh century. It is possible to argue that dark tourism as an actuality was established in ancient times: a compelling thought if we consider the popularity of Roman Gladiatorial contests, for example. Examined the concept of dark tourism alongside the more ancient idea of pilgrimage, noting that “both dark tourism and pilgrimage emerge from the same milieu to include the sites of dramatic historic events that bear extra meaning”. The metaphor of modern pilgrimage has been used to describe the motivations of non-religious dark tourists, as for example in the work of winter who explored motivations for tourism to the First World War battlefield sites in Belgium. This conceptualisation removes dark tourism from its solely “thanatourism” roots as being linked to death and instead attaches it to a broader trend in visitation to sites of historical significance, some of which will be dark but, for example in the case of pilgrimage, some will be associated with rituals of joy and thanksgiving. Historically it can be seen that tourism has always had aspects of dark tourism in its gaze. Several commentators have identified that pilgrimage is one of the earliest forms of tourism. Pilgrimage sites are often associated with death in one form or another, with religious pilgrims often visiting the site of the death, or the graves of individuals or groups. Such visits tend to have religious or spiritual associations relevant to the pilgrims visiting, and are seen as acts of remembrance, commemoration or veneration, and usually feature as part of a ritualistic or tokenistic ceremony, perhaps tied to a particular religious or even secular calendar. It is clear that such ritualistic approaches to commemoration are not solely the stuff of sanitised tourism products within the remit of the modern tourism industry. It should be recognised that there is an increasing demand for dark tourism products which offer a connection with scenes of suffering and death. That is not to say that this is a completely modern phenomenon: visitation to scenes associated with death in particular; battlefields, graveyards and the former homes of dead celebrities for example, have proven to be a significant motivator in tourism in past-times as well. However, of particular significance to this study is the consideration of the commodification of such sites has transformed the tourism industry in such a way as to generate demand for, as well as access to, dark tourism experiences. “Death tourism”, an emerging field of travel associated with assisted dying, which despite its superficially specific features can be classified within the spectrum of dark tourism experiences. The growth of a new form of tourism associated with a new set of social or cultural practices or technologies is a regular feature of the development of modern tourism and observed that “dark tourism is simply a fascinating and controversial area” and therefore the growth in recent scholarship in this field may be attributable to the nature of the subject matter as much as to any specific maturation in the field of tourism presumptions for developing or developments in the industry itself. 1.4.Supply and demand as factors in dark tourism Much of tourism can be seen to be related to classic demand/supply issues: does demand drive supply or does supply initiate demand? The nature of dark tourism is multi-faceted, and despite its increasing popularity, understanding of the phenomenon remains limited. Splitted their definition of dark tourism into two categories; that which is focused on a psychological consumption process and which “offers tourists desired psychological outcomes and actual psychological outcomes to satisfy tourists emotional demands” and that which is focused on the supply side of dark tourism and which “supplies emotional and cognitive experiences to tourists who have an interactive relationship with a dark tourism product, including either man-made or natural disaster destinations.” Saw little distinction between dark tourism and heritage tourism, however. They argued that dark tourism is largely a product of supply side factors, and as such visitation to Auschwitz-Birkenau (the case study under consideration by them) needs further examination of visitors perceptions must be considered in order to fully understand the complex motivations of such visitors, and it is unlikely to be simply a morbid fascination with death alone which encourages current annual visitation of over 1.7 million people. This notion challenges the descriptive idea that dark tourism is simply about death and disaster to an approach which must necessarily encourage the exploitation of dark attractions in line with other, similar heritage attractions. The core motivations in this case are seen as essentially those of heritage tourists with the dark aspect being an addition rather than a prime motivator. Suggested that dark tourism in general appears to be supply driven and attraction based, but a segmented approach to marketing such attractions which takes into consideration the purpose of the visit with regard to personal considerations and the relevance of the dark site to the individual tourist and the depth of the dark element all combine to make a clear exposition of dark tourism motivations difficult to ascertain. It seems likely that there are a variety of motivations, but nonetheless there are a number of drivers which dark tourism destinations can be better placed to exploit. The significance of that observation for this work is that dark attractions will prove appealing and are likely to increase overall visitation in an urban context especially, where there are also other pull factors encouraging tourists to visit in addition to the dark attractions alone. categorisation of the supply side of dark tourism into seven “dark suppliers”: Dark Fun Factories - those sites which are primarily focussed on entertainment, with low levels of authenticity; Dark Exhibitions - dark tourism products that blend entertainment and learning opportunities, often with a commemorative or reflective intention; Dark Dungeons - which rely on the presentation of sites associated with previously implemented penal codes; Dark Resting Places - based on cemeteries or grave markers; Dark Shrines - these are specially constructed attractions which provide an opportunity to commemorate or remember the recently deceased; Dark Conflict Sites - being sites associated with warfare; and Dark Camps of Genocide - sites at the darkest end of the dark tourism spectrum which present locations associated with genocide, atrocity and catastrophe. The supply-side aspects of delivering a dark tourism product depend largely on factors such as the attempt to manipulate a dark site for political purposes, or the desire to achieve a commercial advantage. Such factors need, rightly, to be considered with sensitivity, and may prove to be a significant limiting factor in the willingness of DMO s to develop dark sites fully on a commercial basis. Notwithstanding this consideration, as research develops it is becoming apparent that the typology of dark attractions is varied. The darkness continuum, within which attractions can be considered according to their perceived darkness proposed a similar model, again through consideration of Auschwitz as a destination, which also has authenticity at the core of the dark offering. That is to say, actual sites of death and disaster exert a stronger pull for the visitor. Such authentic sites tend to have commemoration at the core of their offering and tend to be history centric. This does mean that sites which are authentic have a much greater pull in dark tourism, and as is the case with similar heritage attractions, it does present a unique selling point for DMO s to consider, bearing in mind that visitation is unlikely to involve visitation to the dark site alone for the duration of the stay. Dark tourism has become an “increasingly pervasive part of the visitor economy” and refers to the locations of dark tourism experiences as “deathscapes”. Authenticity with regard to location is a key factor at the darkest end of Stone spectrum, but time is also a consideration, as in how much time has elapsed since the actions commemorated at the site. Essentially, the nearer the events are to us in time, the darker they appear. Sites which are near contemporary and located at the actual scene prove to be the darkest of all, and this in turn can influence visitor expectations and experience due to the level of empathy shown by visitors who are aware of a closer connection to dark events, therefore. temporal, political and ideological factors all have influence on visitor perceptions at a dark attraction. These considerations can partly explain the way in which supply side dark tourism is not keeping pace with demand. However, this paper argues that the potential for dark tourism is often unacknowledged when considerations other than commemoration are brought into the mix. It should be recognised that no study of the supply side of dark tourism is complete without also considering demand led factors. The motivations for visiting dark sites is an under-researched area, and somewhat beyond the remit of this paper. However, identified that the desire to create a mercantile advantage or manipulate a particular site for political reasons are usually the primary supply-side factors which will determine whether a dark site is developed or not. It should also be noted that a usual explanation for the establishment of dark sites is that they allow contemplation of one s own death - the memento mori effect. Inauthentic offerings allow this contemplation to be at several stages removed, unlike the horror of a death camp for example. There is also a marked reluctance to be seen to be making money from other people s suffering, and it may be that esoteric questions of taste cloud the development of more authentic dark sites. The dark tourism continuum model has been adapted to similarly characterise dark tourists in terms of the “shade” of their motivation, ranging from “mourners”, through the “morbidly curious” and the sightseers to “passive recreationists”, although the limited sample size of 23 graveyard visitors means that the typology requires further testing. The motivations of black metal tourists in Norway, identified motivations related to consumption linked to a specific cultural form, suggesting that dark tourism motivations can also be considered from the perspectives of subcultures and media and specifically suggested that the application of concepts from outside of mainstream tourism presumptions for developing such as Consumer Cultural Theory to the study of dark tourism motivations may produce yet more sophisticated perspectives on the demand side of the dark tourism phenomenon. Visitors to dark sites have as a significant motivation the desire for an actual or symbolic encounter with death, and this underlying motivation needs to be considered in conjunction with the idea that visitors to many dark sites may not always be necessarily aware that the site is, in fact, dark. This is because attractions like museums may not be explicitly marketed as “dark”, but do fit into the continuum of dark although the draw may be more linked to the idea of “heritage”, as suggested by highlighted, motivations for dark tourists can depend on differences in motivations between the very diverse groups who partake in it; children and young people are the most curious group when it come to a general interest in atrocities, for example, whilst women are most likely to show concerns about safety and security when choosing dark tourism destinations. When evaluating the motivations of Scandinavian and domestic-Thai visitors to dark tourism sites in significant differences in push and pull-factor motivations based on the nationalities of the tourist studied, as well as in their ages. This has significant implications for the marketing of dark attractions, and it could be inferred that currently (with the possible exception of the darkest attractions such as concentration camps) the marketing implications of dark site development needs to be further evaluated and understood more fully. It is a key contention of this paper that often visitors to dark sites may not be aware of the classification of “dark” as being especially relevant to them and their leisure activities. However, DMO s would benefit from identifying suitable dark attractions and making them available to this latent and often untapped market. In other words, if there is more clarity around what an attraction has to offer, it will prove more attractive to visitors and in the case of dark attractions marketed as such will appeal to more visitors potentially. Nevertheless, they are most definitely an integral part of the appeal of dark tourism, and it is that appeal that DMO s need to recognise and capitalise on in order to attract increased visitation. 2.Analysis of presumptions for developing dark tourism in Lithuania 2.1.Ethical considerations related to visitation of dark sites It is recognised that commercial or other exploitation of dark sites involves a number of ethical issues. There is a general feeling that “it is unacceptable to profit from the dead”. The classic model of visitor attractions would dictate that commercial, and in particular retail operations are an important source of revenue. However, this may prove a contentious area: consider the restraints on merchandise they can offer, limited by both location and subject matter. This does mean that DMO s and other interested parties will need to consider their dark developments carefully: there is an appeal, but if that appeal and increased visitation is difficult to capitalise then it is less likely to happen. Of course, authentic dark sites in particular have merit on their own as attractions, but it is necessary to also consider matters of taste and decency. This may serve to limit commercial exploitation, but as part of a coordinated approach to visitor management overseen by a DMO or similar it can be a vital part in increasing overall visitation, with the benefits to commercial exploitation perhaps realised elsewhere in other local businesses such as cafes and bars. It is also worth noting that often dark tourism sites are not spatially or temporally distinct or unusual places. For example, Ground Zero in New York is a busy pedestrian thoroughfare, and families regularly picnic in Pierre Lachaise cemetery in Paris. This observation has implications when considering use of space: it should be possible to combine multiple uses with careful planning, thus maximising potential within an urban context. In particular, it should be recognised that often Thanatourism sites are not all one-dimensional theme parks created purely for those interested in death. The sites exist in their own right and often serve everyday functions, existing as places were local people live their lives. Urban tourism is a challenging and multi-disciplinary field of study that draws on areas including sociology, urban presumptions for developing, planning and architecture, as well as traditional tourism research (Selby, 2004). Research in urban tourism has been prompted by the recent dramatic growth of tourism to cities, and research into this area forms a relatively new part of the tourism literature (Maxim, 2017; Wearing and Foley, 2017). Maitland (2016) noted that tourism is just one of the many mobilities that brings visitors to a city, echoing earlier research by Pearce (2001) that indicated the difficulties in carrying out research in to urban tourism due to tourism s relatively minor role in the complex socio-economic life of urban areas. If we define urban tourism simply as tourism that takes place in urban areas, it becomes more important to develop a thorough understanding of the components of urban tourism destinations. Selby (2004), in his review of previous writing on urban destinations, includes the following aspects of cities as forming part of the foci of urban tourism research: historic cities, casinos, urban regeneration, major sporting events, visitor management, historic districts, entertainment districts, tourist zones and sacred spaces. Van den Berg et al. (1995) described the five aspects of what they call a “tourist city”. First, primary products. These are the core reasons why tourists visit a city and can include natural features, historical attributes and specialist tourism facilities such as conference venues, sporting arenas and museums. Next are the secondary products and services, such as accommodation, retail, restaurants and information, which are necessary for generating staying visits, as opposed to day visits in a city. External transport is the third aspect of the tourist city, highlighting the connectivity of the city to tourism­generating regions. The fourth aspect is internal transport: the city must be easily navigable to tourists to ensure that the whole city becomes a resource to tourism, again extending the length of visits. Finally, the tourist city must have a developed tourism image. The image of the city is developed from the relationship of the first four elements to the marketing activities of the city s DMO and the perception of the city held by potential visitors. The growth of urban tourism can be understood as part of the changing cultural context of developed countries. Urry (2002) noted that the shift of tourism to urban areas from traditional coastal destinations has accompanied a broader shift within post-modern culture, which prioritises consumption, accessibility, culture and technology, which began in the 1980s. Gale presents Urry (2002) set of processes that exemplify the post-modern transformation of culture, and therefore tourism, which were in turn developed from Harvey (1989, pp. 340-1) categorisations of the emergence of postmodernism in developed economies. The first of these, the shift in the nature of experienced time towards instantaneity, has meant that “post-tourists” or “post-modern tourists” have moved away from the regimented Saturday to Saturday element of traditional holidays (Gale, 2005, p. 94), helping to explain the growth in shorter city-break tourism. Coupled with increases in the efficiency and accessibility of transport, this has meant that the time-space compression that is a characteristic of contemporary globalisation has made international travel more affordable and practical (Gale, 2005, p. 95). Changes associated with post-modern culture such as the increase in individualisation, the weakening of group identities, and the playfulness of modern consumption have led to the increasing popularity of new urban destinations and a rejection of older resorts which are now seen as “tasteless” by many (Gale, 2005, p. 93). As well as cultural explanations for the growth in urban tourism, economic explanations also help to explain this phenomenon. By the end of the 1990s, many post-industrial cities were seeking ways of diversifying their economies, and tourism development offered opportunities for investment and promotion (Ben-Dalia etal., 2013; Spirouand Judd, 2014; Garcia-Hernadez et al. ,2017). Hoffman (2003) studied the development of Harlem, New York in the post-Fordist period from the perspective of regulation theory and showed how significant changes in the local economy over a period of 30 years have provided specific opportunities for tourism development in the area. For example, cultural diversity has become a key aspect of marketing in a highly differentiated market place and the area of Harlem can offer products and services that meet the needs of many different cultural segments, as well as the desires of tourists to consume diverse products, leading to a growth in niche tourism products such as cultural tourism which are an example of “flexible specialisation”, a concern of regulationist approaches to understanding post-Fordist economies. Urban tourism offers a number of benefits to destinations. Unlike other forms of tourism, it displays little seasonality, attracts relatively well educated and well-off tourists and provides opportunities for niche tourism development such as business tourism and cultural tourism (Richards, 2007). Whilst noting that tourism appears to function well as an economic engine for urban areas, Gladstone and Feinstein noted that “the distributional consequences of tourism are more debatable” (p. 38). Urban tourism is now a core part of urban redevelopment and competitiveness strategies (Richards and Wilson, 2007; Spirou, 2007; Smith, 2007; Zukin, 1995), but this only serves to reinforce the already central role of tourism and culture in the development and image of urban areas. As Sharon Zukin (1995) pointed out, “For several hundred years, visual representations of cities have sold urban growth. Images, from early maps to picture postcards, have not simply reflected real city spaces; instead they have been imaginative reconstructions - from specific points of view - of a city s monumentality” (p. 16). The huge competition between cities, coupled with the growth in accessible transportation and the emergence of new economies into the global economy, has meant that cities that have not historically been well-known tourism destination to enter the tourism industry, leading to increased global completion between cities for urban tourists (Ben-Dalia et al., 2013; Valls et al., 2014). Because of this, it is important for cities to understand areas of the tourism market in which they can offer novel and unique experiences to tourists, to increase their attractiveness - the growing dark tourism market (Stone, 2005; Stone and Sharpley, 2008; Biran and Hyde, 2013) may offer a way for many cities to become more competitive in this sense. Europe is the world s most competitive tourist region according to the World Economic Forum (2017) and the world s number one tourism destination, according to the UNWTO (2017), attracting around 50 per cent of the world s total tourism arrivals in 2016. This has been facilitated by increasing European integration, with a knock-on effect on price comparability and ease of movement, as well as the growth in European low-cost airlines (Baldassin et al., 2017). This research focuses on tourism to Europe s most popular tourist cities, in terms of arrivals, shown in Table I. Cities are the most important part of Europe s tourism product, especially when it comes to the cultural and heritage tourism that forms the core part of their offer (Garcia-Hernadez et al., 2017; Wickens, 2017). European city destinations range in size from the relatively small, emerging destinations that have recently entered the tourism market such as Ljubljana (Bozic et al., 2017) and Krakow (Matoga and Pawtowska, 2016) to world cities such as London and Paris (Maxim, 2017). Valls etal. (2014) showed that there are a diversity of holiday products offered by European cities, with different cities particularly attractive for certain type of holiday. Paris and London are the most popular tourist cities by far, but Rome and Barcelona are also significant long holiday destinations and Berlin and Venice major city-break destinations. One of the aims of this paper is to investigate to what extent dark tourism products feature as an important part of the offer of European cities, and to put this into the context of the literature on urban tourism, which currently suggests that that urban tourism destinations are not recognising or promoting their dark tourism products consistently or effectively (Powell and Kennell, 2016). DMOs in developed economies are still adapting to the impacts of the global economic crisis that began in 2007 (Kennell and Chaperon, 2013), and many European destinations are now operating in a situation where supply-side factors associated with cultural tourism that have supported the growth of post-industrial cities are losing their significance (Kennell, 2013), meaning that there is a need for destinations to establish new grounds for their competitive advantage in a crowded city tourism market (Valls et al., 2014). Major tourist cities in Europe and the USA that have historically been magnets for tourism development are now also facing competition from secondary and satellite cities and need to innovate in terms of their tourism offer to remain competitive (Spirou and Judd, 2014). In terms of Van den Berg et al. s description of the tourist city, this paper aims to explore the representation of dark tourism as a primary product for European cities, with implications for the marketing activities of DMOs in the region. 2.2.Hypotheses development in dark tourism The effect of tourist value on satisfaction. Previous research on value investigated the influence of pre-purchase value perceptions on the willingness to buy and purchase decision in the retailing sector. Presumptions for developing found that the circumstances in which the value is perceived play an important role in differentiating the concept of value. For example, tourists perception of value before and after the trip may not be the same. Presumptions for developing observed that value perceptions are connected with the constructs such as satisfaction and behavioral intentions. The influence of value on behavioral intentions was partially confirmed due to the presence of past experience and familiarly with the product. On the contrary, scholars observed the effect of value on customer satisfaction. Similarly, the study also observed the influence of value on satisfaction and behavioral intentions in adventure tourism. Numerous presumptions for developing in tourism examined the relationships between value, quality, satisfaction and behavior in tourism literature. These research presumptions for developing have administered different technique in conceptualizing constructs, conducting analysis and applying theories. Most of these researches focused on conceptualizing quality in tourism experience and investigating their effect on satisfaction. Presumptions for developing in tourism have found a favorable relationship between perceived value and satisfaction also observed an association between value and satisfaction in tourism presumptions for developing. Thus, it is logical to hypothesize the following hypotheses in dark tourism: H1. Functional value has a positive influence on tourist satisfaction. H2. Value for money has a positive influence on tourist satisfaction. H3. Emotional value has a positive influence on tourist satisfaction. H4. Social value has a positive influence on tourist satisfaction. H5. Novelty value has a positive influence on tourist satisfaction. The effect on tourists value and satisfaction on loyalty intentions. Presumptions for developing have investigated the direct and indirect relationships between value, quality, satisfaction, repurchase intention, word of mouth and loyalty behavior found that value perceived by the consumer has an influence on their future behavior. Presumptions for developing also observed that satisfaction exercises an effect on loyalty behavior. Previous research found that value act as a mediator between quality, price and behavioral intentions. Presumptions for developing consensus on the proposition that satisfaction acts as a determinant of behavioral intentions. Though satisfaction influences behavioral intentions, its link with value provides more insight into the structural model incorporating those constructs. The study has found a positive relationship between value and satisfaction and repurchase intention. The research found a moderate to the strong link between the three constructs. However, the study argued to interpret the result with caution due to small sample size. Furthermore, the research also directed to conduct such research in different destination and context. Accordingly, conducted empirical research in adventure tourism. This study also proposes to investigate the association between these three constructs in dark tourism. Furthermore, the research also examines the mediation effect of satisfaction between value and satisfaction. Thus, it is logical to hypothesize the following hypotheses in dark tourism: H6. Functional value has a positive influence on loyalty intention. H7. Value for money has a positive influence on loyalty intention. H8. Emotional value has a positive influence on loyalty intention. H9. Social value has a positive influence on loyalty intention. H10. Novelty value has a positive influence on loyalty intention. H11. Satisfaction has a positive influence on loyalty intention. H12. Satisfaction mediates the relationships between value and loyalty intention. 2.3.Questionnaire development in dark tourism In line with existing presumptions for developing, the scale estimating tourist value (i.e. functional, value for money, emotional and social) is adopted from PERVAL value scale. In addition, a new dimension of value was added to the scale called novelty value. Accordingly, functional value was measured using “consistent quality; acceptable standard of quality; and well organized”. Value for money was measured using “good return for money; reasonably priced; and a good one for the price”. Emotional value was measured using “gave me feelings of well-being; was exiting; and made me feel happy”. Social value was measured using “give social approval from others; make me acceptable to others; and improves the way a person is perceived”. Finally, novelty value was measured using “was an authentic experience; fulfilled my curiosity; and we did a lot of new things in the destination”. The respondents rated using the seven-point scale (1= strongly disagree and 7= strongly agree). Satisfaction was measured using a three item scale. The items used in estimating satisfaction were “satisfied with the decision; was exactly what I needed; and it was a wise choice”. The respondents rated using the seven-point scale (1= strongly disagree and 7= strongly agree). Similarly, behavioral intentions were also measured using three items. The items used in estimating behavioral intentions were “recommend dark tourism tour to others; go on another dark tour in future; and spread positive word of mouth to others”. The respondents rated using the seven- point scale (1= strongly disagree and 7= strongly agree). The survey instrument was made available in two languages, i.e. Hindi and English. Back translation was conducted to improve the reliability and consistency of the questionnaire. The questionnaire was then pilot tested using 50 tourists visiting the dark tourism destination. During the pilot test a few problems were found in the questionnaire such as the framing of the question and complex words. These problems were corrected then and there. Other than these issues, no substantial changes were required in the questionnaire. Similarly, this study considers the chances of common method variance (CMV) which may raise due to the use of a self-report questionnaire. Some guidelines are adhered to minimize the chances of CMV. First, the information of the respondents was kept anonymous. Second, the questionnaire was designed to place an independent variable at the forefront and dependent variable followed such variable. Third, reverse coded questions used to find the biases. Finally, common method variance was tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The chi square difference between the model with common latent factor and without it showed that common method variance is not an issue in the data. 2.4.Data purification in dark tourism This study was conducted by collecting data from tourists visiting Kaunas in Lithuania. This research purified the data before conducting the final data analysis. Some missing values were observed in the data. However, the missing values were not substantial (less than 5 per cent per variable). Missing values were substituted using the mean substitution method. Similarly, some outliers were seen in the data. Those outliers were removed from the data because their size was negligible (0.67 per cent). The normality of the data set was also examined prior to final data analysis. Accordingly, a Shapiro-Wilk test was conducted which reported an insignificant p-value (p > 0.05). This indicates that the distribution of data is normal. This research followed the guidelines of which argues that the reliability and validity of constructs are examined before testing the structural model. The reliability of the measure was examined using Lithuania s alpha. The value of Lithuania s alpha ranged from 0.83 to 0.93, which were more than 0.7, indicating internal consistency of the scale (Fornell and Larker, 1981). CFA results exhibited that convergent and discriminant validity of the scale. The value of composite reliability ranged from 0.82 to 0.91, which were more than 0.7. Similarly, the value of factor loading ranged from 0.75 to 0.92, which were above 0.7 and significant (p

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