BA Travel and Tourism Management

5TR032
Destination Studies

Photo taken by Joanna Antosiak and Elena Vasile(2010)

Berlin as a Dark Tourism Destination

Joanna Antosiak 100102570 Elena Vasile 100068806 Module Leader: Duncan Marson Iride Azara

Content Page Section 1 1.1 1.2 1.3 Introduction Aim Objective

Section 2 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 Berlin information Destination image Development of the destination Berlin as a dark destination Tourism statistics Secondary research Primary research/ observational research Identification of target markets in Berlin Contribution of dark tourism in German tourism industry Competitors

Section 3 3.1 3.2 3.3 Conclusion Reference list Appendix The Diary

Section 1 1.1 Introduction The purpose of this report is to present Berlin as a Dark Tourism Destination. In order to study this subject, a trip had been undertaken and the research was carried on. The purpose of the trip was to investigate whether Berlin has enough to offer as a dark tourism destination. This report will present findings of the trip with the aim and objectives. In order to research, good understanding of the history is essential. As it can be read in the Berlin Guide (2008, p.4):Seemingly in a perpetual state of transformation, Berlin is an extraordinary city. For over a century, events here either mirrored or determined what happened in the rest of Europe, and event twenty years after the world-changing fall of the Berlin Wall - change in the city is as brisk as ever. Berlin is known to be one of the Europes most powerful capitals. Berlin is the city of many cultures and it is not a light-headed tourism attraction because of its history and sightseeing. The city is still a work in progress, even in the city centre, many roads or building are waiting to be rebuild. Every tourist should plan the trip ahead as Berlin has so many points of interest that without planning one may feel lost.

1.2

Aim

Aim of this report is to observe the development of Dark Tourism in Berlin, and see if the destination has enough to offer as a dark tourism attraction. Berlin is one of the cities which became famous because of its history, and is goes back as far as the eighteen century. In order to be named as a dark tourism destination is necessary for the city to have the dark tourism related attractions. Therefore, a trip was taken and the findings will be presented further on in this report.

1.3

Objectives Objectives of the trip were to identify why visitors visit Berlin and the related dark tourism attractions and how dark tourism sector contributes to Germanys tourism industry and to identify other German and European dark tourism competitors.

Section 2 2.1 Berlin Information As Boniface and Cooper (2009, p.262) state the city first became important in the 18th century as the capital of Prussia, the most militaristic of the German states, under the leadership of Frederick the Great, and in 1871 it became the capital of a United Germany. In the 1920s Berlin was notorious for its cabarets. During the Cold War Era, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie epitomised the confrontation between NATO and the Soviet Union. West Berlin was a cosmopolitan island of democracy and free enterprise surrounded by communist East Germany, whereas East Berlin was the capital of DDR. After the collapse of Berlin Wall, the East Berlin became the focus of the worlds greatest urban regeneration process. The chart below presents basic information about Berlin (Germany). State System Democratic parliamentary federal democracy since 1949 Administration 16 federal states Capital City Berlin, about 3.4 million inhabitants National Flag Three horizontal stripes in black, red, gold Emblem Stylized Eagle Third verse of August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallerslebens Anthem Das Lied der Deutschen to a melody by Joseph Haydn Kaiserhymne State Holiday October 3, Day of German Unity Parliament Bundestag Time Zone CET/CEST Currency Germany is a member of the Eurozone, EUR 1 = 100 cents Phone Dial +49 Code Internet TLD .de (one of the ten most frequent top-level domains) German. German is the mother tongue of 100 million people Official and is the mother tongue spoken most frequently in the Language European Union Location Central Europe Size 357,021 km (137,847 mi) About 82 million (Germany has the largest population of any EU Inhabitants member state) Berlin (3.4 million inhabitants), Hamburg (1.8m), Munich (1.3m), Largest Cities Cologne (1.0m), Frankfurt/Main (662,000) Germany is located in the heart of Europe and has nine Neighboring neighbors: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, States France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Poland, and Switzerland Borders 3,757 km (2,334 mi) Coastline 2,389 km (1,484 mi) Highest Zugspitze 2963 m (9,718 ft)

Mountain Longest Rivers Rhine 865 km (537 mi), Elbe 700 km (435 mi), Danube 647 km (402 mi) in Germany

2.3 Development of the destination Berlin is a capital of one of the most developed countries in Europe. However, as mentioned before many of the buildings seem unfinished and many of the districts are not maintained well with graffiti on the walls and lack of structure on the roads. Berlin is with no doubts an urban destination, which as Cooper et al (2008, pp.478-479) notices is 'both multi-sold and multi-bought, through offering a range of tourist products and services that create diverse product packages'. Tourists can visit for purposes such as: dark tourism, shopping, city-breaks, business, educational, etc., bringing a good income not only to the initial destination but to surrounding regions as well. Going further, Cooper et al (2008, p.479) reports that 'developing and marketing the product clusters of city destinations cannot be directed by a single authority. Residents, private and public tourism stakeholders and other urban authorities need to cooperate to initiate development projects and to effect marketing activities by creating one-voice strategy'. The author also highlights the difference between the rural and urban tourism, where limited seasonality is doing a favour for the latter. Development of the urban destination, in this study case, Berlin, is very much dependant on local authorities and their abilities to to integrate tourism into the overall city structure. Berlin, as a destination that is still in the developing stage, is very well organised with easy access to information, city maps and the trains and buses that are always on time. It is the city of many attractions, with maybe a little lead of dark tourism as the main due to the city's horrific history. However, if one is not interested in this new trend in tourism industry, they will not be disappointed with other attractions that Berlin has on offer (e.g. pink tourism with it's ever growing love parades).

2.4 Berlin as a dark destination Sharpley and Stone (2009, pp.9-10) report that dark tourism have been part of the travel and tourism industry ever since people were able to travel. They also state that the growth started in the mid-20th century and that highlights association between a tourism site, attraction or experience and death, disaster or suffering. Tarlow (2005, p.48) cited in Sharpley and Stone (2009, p.10) describes dark tourism as 'visitations to places where tragedies or historically noteworthy death has occurred and that continue to impact our lives'. However, that definition does not provide readers with types of dark tourism destination that will show its variety. Dark tourism in Berlin exists mainly due to Berlin Wall fall and Holocaust. Berlin is packed with museums and memorials, e.g. The Berlin Wall Memorial or Wall Documentation Centre, witch keeps the story alive with the use of photos, soundtracks and information terminals. (Berlin Guide, 2008, p.114). Apart from Berlin Wall memorials, which are very informative and modern, several Holocaust related museums are located in Berlin. Jewish Museum, with little admission, is very interactive, however, too overwhelming with some unnecessary exhibitions and not too informative. On the other hand Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe is absolutely amazing experience, leaving tourist with the idea of what had happened in the past and making it really emotional by presenting the stories of whole families. Dark tourism is a complex trend in travel and tourism industry and not only attractions that present horrific history could be classified as a dark tourism destination. Typical example of dark tourism that is created strictly for entertaining reasons is The Dungeons, which is under the ownership of the Merlin Entertainment Group (also owner of Alton Towers, Legoland, etc.). It is not available in Berlin (however, two other attractions of Merlin Entertainment are Madame Tussauds and Sea Life). The Dungeons is, as can be read on The Dungeons (2010) website is 'a unique combination of real history, horror and humour bring gruesome historic events back to life in the 21st century. Each Dungeon offers a horror fest linked to their location highlighting the local historys horrible bits. The Dungeon experience combines live actors, rides, shows and special effects to transport you back to relive those darker times'.

2.5 Tourism statistics Collecting statistical data is very important when it comes to understanding where and why people visit and reasons behind it, as well as checking satisfaction levels. Good tourism statistics can provide needed feedback which is essential for any destination in order to develop. However, as Cooper et al (2008, p.82) notice 'collecting tourism statistics is time-consuming and complex. In some countries it is taken very seriously, to the extent that attempts are made to assess the size of potential errors.' Cooper et al (2008, pp.82-83) also present key points to bear in mind when it comes to use of tourism statistics. Those are as follows: many of the statistics are estimates (derived from sample surveys), therefore errors are common general rule is that the smaller the sample size (of sample survey) the greater chance of possible error there are problems involved in attempting either to compare or to combine figures collected by different countries or organisations. Statistics below are taken from Visit Berlin (2010) website. They presents trends in tourism in Berlin over the years. The first graph to be presented shows overnight stays in millions. The constant growth of visitors is noticeable. However, there is major difference in numbers between national and international visitors. It is clear that, overseas tourists visit rearer than national ones. It may be improved by creating international campaigns promoting Berlin as a tourist attraction.

Another statistic shows which countries visit most (in thousands). Great Britain is on the leas with 6.2% of total international visits to Berlin. Looking at the other visiting countries it is easy to notice that they are all well developed countries (Italy, USA, France, etc) with Eastern European countries not even being included in this survey. That may be due to costs of the visit. Berlin as a capital is rather pricey, getting there may be relatively easy thanks to cheap airlines, however accommodation in the city centre as well as some attractions are not affordable for every tourist (especially not for those who look for bargain holidays).

The last graph to be shown presents which cities are the most popular among tourists in Germany. Berlin is on the first place, and that could be explained by the fact that it is capital of the Germany, therefore the most recognised. However, the history of Berlin might have had a massive impact in this case (Berlin Wall is still one of the main attractions in Berlin).

References

Cooper, Ch., Fletcher, J., Gilbert, D., Wanhill, S. (2008) Tourism. Principles and Practice. (4th edition) Prentice Hall, Harlow The Dungeons (2010) Available at <http://www.the-dungeons.co.uk> [Accessed on 4 August 2010]