Dark Tourism: The 263 Billion Dollar Industry

If I asked you where you would go for your next vacation, what would you say? Hawaii? Rome? Tokyo? How about war torn Syria? Or perhaps Kiev? Maybe North Korea?

Those don’t sound like ideal vacation spots for most of us….well at least that’s what one would think, but there are many who find typical vacation spots a bit dull for their tastes so they go to places where they would experience a spike in their adrenalin levels (at the very least).

The Atlantic did an excellent piece (highly recommended read) on Dark Tourism where tourists are going to the places I’ve mentioned above, not only are they doing it voluntarily but they are also paying a shit ton of money for it. Each tour costs between $2500 to $6000 for a week or two.

Dark tourism is also a booming industry, according to the piece in the Atlantic, it had an annual growth rate of 65% over the last four years and has a net worth of $263 billion!

So here’s the question, is it a solid investment? Will anyone here consider investing (I’m looking at all you private equity and alternative investment guys). Anyone interested in going? ( I am! But only if I can get a guarantee that I will be unharmed). Curious what you guys think.