Kerala Police asks people to avoid visiting landslides-hit Wayanad for ‘Dark Tourism’ since it is affecting rescue operations

Wayanad is struggling to revive from the recent landslides which have killed over 200 people in the district, with authorities still conducting rescue and relief operations for the people affected by the calamity.

Meanwhile, Kerala Police has issued a crucial message on its X (previously Twitter) page, where it has directed people from avoiding ‘sightseeing’ in the disaster-hit areas.

“Please don’t go to disaster areas for sightseeing. It will affect rescue operations,” the post read.

According to reports, Kerala has witnessed a swell in the number of visitors to the disaster sites in recent times.

What is Dark Tourism?

Dark tourism (also thanatourism, black tourism, morbid tourism, or grief tourism) has been defined as tourism involving travel to places historically associated with death and tragedy.

According to reports, the bizarre trend has been gaining popularity since World War II.

These tourism sites mostly include cemeteries, mausoleums, mortuaries, disaster zones, battlefields, memorials, prisons, execution sites, and crime scenes.

Some of the popular dark tourism sites include New York’s Ground Zero, where travellers visit to experience the scariest terror attack which took place on September 11, 2001.

The other major destinations include Chernobyl in Ukraine, Auschwitz Concentration Camps in Poland, among others.