The secret of the increasing number of foreigners coming to Iraq.. What is the story of dark death tourism?

But there is another side to what is actually happening and the secret of the increasing number of foreign tourists coming to Iraq, which has nothing to do with the improvement of the security situation in Iraq or the visit of the Pope in the Vatican, but a new behavior. This phenomenon, called “dark tourism”, has begun to spread among “rich people and travel lovers around the world”, and this phenomenon is not limited to Iraq, but has also spread to Afghanistan and some parts of Africa where many conflicts have occurred. Recently, this trend has begun to revive as tourists are eager to visit countries that have experienced conflicts. Tourists do not want to feel luxury from these visits, but want to understand the difficult life there and the essence of the people, as well as the feeling. There are risks.

According to the New York Post, David Smith, a travel agent in New South Wales, Australia, said that among wealthy retirees who travel frequently, many people want to go to these dangerous places.

Smith Forward Travel has long focused on providing customized trips to unique, off-the-beaten-path destinations, with the company having offered Arctic expeditions and trips to remote areas of Patagonia, but about a year ago the company launched services in Afghanistan, Iraq, Mexico and West Africa.

David Smith, an agent for the company, noticed photos shared by tourists on social media, which inspired him to meet representatives from “dangerous” countries at the World Travel Exchange, the world’s leading travel trade fair in Berlin, Germany. He was invited to visit Iraq and see for himself…Iraq.

“Iraq was a real discovery for me,” Mr Smith said. “I have visited 100 countries and I can honestly say that the Iraqi people are the friendliest and most generous people and they were delighted to learn that only Westerners wanted to visit their country, not invade it or steal its antiquities.”

He added: “It took me 14 days to go from… Basra Traveling through Iraq to Kurdistan was simply amazing from the perspective of being immersed in history, and I can say that I visited the cradle of human civilization.”

Smith said the tourism markets in Afghanistan, Iraq and West Africa have seen significant growth and increasing demand, but are still in their infancy in terms of inbound tourist numbers.

Interestingly, these former war zones are popular with older Australian military retirees aged between 60 and 70 years old.

Smith said these countries are not cheap to visit and are not suitable for inexperienced travelers. Former travelers often dreamed of extreme travel but could not visit the countries they were interested in due to political instability. Now they have the time, money and opportunity: “These people don’t ask questions like ‘We have $5,000, what can I get?’ They just say: ‘I want to see this, how much will it cost?’ However, they are not looking for luxury.”

“These travelers wanted to see how the locals lived,” Smith said, “and they were happy to stay in ordinary houses and live in the simplest of conditions if it would take them to that temple in the forest they had read about in a book.”

These destinations attract educated history and culture buffs who know exactly what they want and are drawn to the mystery, Smith said.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has issued formal travel warnings for Iraq and Afghanistan, with Level 4 being the highest level, stating: “Do not travel to Iraq, including the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, due to the unstable security situation and the threat of terrorism, armed conflict, kidnapping and violent crime.” Regarding Afghanistan, the website warns: “Do not travel to Afghanistan due to the extremely dangerous security situation and the serious threat of terrorism and kidnapping.”

Smith advises travelers who wish to visit exotic and dangerous destinations to carefully research all local customs and potential risks, consult an expert and discuss the destination in detail, register with the consulate before departure, use common sense when navigating unfamiliar areas, and always follow the advice of a local guide.

Risk is attractive

Dr David Berman, an expert in risk management in the tourism industry, said there were always tourists who wanted to visit dangerous places or sites of recent conflict.

“We have a movement called ‘dark tourism’ or ‘death tourism’ where people go to places where terrible things have happened, whether it’s a natural disaster site or an old Nazi concentration camp,” Dr Berman said.

He worked for the Israeli government’s tourism office in Australia, New Zealand and the southwest Pacific from 1994 to 2006, and said the first question he was asked was: “Is it safe?”

A big part of his job is telling travelers which areas are absolutely safe and which they’d be wise to avoid, but some travelers aren’t afraid of anything. “There’s always a small group of people who want to go to the most dangerous places, like the borders with Syria, Lebanon or Gaza, and they’re excited about the possibility,” Berman said.

He believes government advice against travel can sometimes have the opposite effect on people, “There’s always going to be people who think, ‘Oh, everyone tells me I shouldn’t go there, so what’s the problem, I’ll just go,'” he said, adding that this type of travel is usually mostly for wealthy amateurs because the financial cost of such trips has always been high.