Dark Tourism in Thailand - The “Touristification” of Wartime Atrocities and Crime

Abstract

Thailand with their past as opium traders in the 19th and 20th centuries, exemplified by the Hmong village Doi Pui. To analyse how different tourist groups react to the commercialisation of these sites and how their perceptions differ from one another, both local and foreign tourists as well as local experts were interviewed. Based on the theoretical concepts of “dark tourism” and the “tourist gaze”, the connection between commercialisation, “touristification” and memory is discussed.