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Loss, time and tourist demand

Fisher, David F.
Stewart, Emma
Espiner, Stephen R.
Dalton, Hayley
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Conference Contribution - unpublished
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Abstract
As Butler (1980) pointed out, many tourism destinations rise and fall. The motivation to visit destinations can appear as a consequence of external variables over which the tourism sector has no control. How long a particular motivation remains may be prolonged by successful marketing but it is equally likely that what created initial interest may eventually disappear. In this conceptual paper, we examine loss as a motivator in the following types of tourism: Dark tourism, last chance tourism (LCT), de-extinction tourism and, what we call, back-from-the-brink tourism, using time as a primary variable. We show that levels of motivation are likely to change when visiting such sites as time passes. For dark tourism time passing results in a lessening of the darkness attached to a site, whilst for LCT time initially increases the motivation until the attraction has gone beyond being a last chance experience. Conversely, de-extinction tourism might translate into a ‘first chance’ desire to witness resurrected species. A chance has been created to see things that were once thought to be lost forever. Related to de-extinction tourism is “back from the brink” tourism. This is tourism motivated by the desire to see species that are in a recovery phase after once being close to extinction. In all cases there is a sense of loss. Dark tourism is loss akin to grief or horror attached to particular sites. Over time the sense of loss or grief reduces. LCT is based on impending loss. De-extinction and back-from-the-brink tourism are examples of unfounded senses of loss. This paper considers loss and grieving as a motivator for tourists. We argue that for certain types of tourism, loss or the belief that there is an impeding loss, is a strong motivator but that when the sense of loss diminishes over time so does the motivation. The paper is primarily theoretical. By understanding loss as a motivator it is possible to unify previous empirical work on dark tourism and last chance tourism, and combine these with findings from research at an endangered bird recovery programme and literature on de-extinction, thereby creating a new model.
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