The more you know of your history, the more liberated you are. - Maya Angelou
To us, dark tourism is about organising trips to historical destinations that intrigue, interest, and educate people. Our clients want to bring history to life and experience places they learnt about either at school, by reading or through the news.
These holidays are perfect for individuals that want to travel as part of a group tour. Or for families that may have a personal reason for visiting a particular location that is associated with their own history. Our Dark Tourism Facebook Page has lots of ideas to choose from, or tell us where you want to go, and we will create a trip just for you.
Dark tourism is about respecting and remembering the past; this helps us to understand how these key events have influenced where we are today.
Case Study: Day of The Dead Festival
Our client asked us to plan her trip to Mexico to attend a friend's wedding. She wanted to use this as an opportunity to tour around Mexico and experience the culture and traditions of this vibrant country. We started to develop an itinerary which would fit around the wedding. We were pleased to find out that the Day of The Dead Festival was taking place while she was in Mexico and would fit in with her schedule.
We have often been asked to arrange trips to Mexico, especially for this festival and we have always had great feedback about the event. We, therefore, suggested this to our client, and she was very excited about the prospect. As you can see from the photo below she fully immersed herself into the experience and enjoyed not only the festivities but was also able to learn more about the local traditions that have resulted in this annual event.
Testimonial
I was given the opportunity to visit Mexico for a friend’s wedding and asked Viva Vacations to create an itinerary around the main event, capturing the essence of the Mexican way of life. They realised that my holiday coincided with the Mexico Day of the Dead festival - a celebration and remembrance of the deceased – and so Viva Vacations arranged for me to travel to Oaxaca for the festival. I met with families who had built private altars and brought large feasts to cemeteries to be with the souls of the departed. It was a festive rather than a sombre gathering, the altars were elaborately decorated, and I enjoyed the opportunity to dress up for the occasion.
Selina, Nottingham