Future Of The Past: Developing Jammu And Kashmir as a Dark Tourism Destination

Dark tourism is a multi-layered mixture of history and heritage, tourism and tragedies. Humanity has been interested in the end of life since the time of pilgrimages. Deaths, disasters and atrocities in touristic form are becoming more and more important stops on the international tourism itinerary. War-related attractions, though diverse, are a subset of the totality of tourist sites associated with death and suffering. The theoretical background of the topic is been presented, and further institutional support for the development of this tourism. The paper aims to assess the scope of “dark tourism ”in Jammu and Kashmir and the role it may play in leveraging tourism industry which has largely relied on pilgrimage, adventure and leisure tourism in the past. This research investigates the potential for developing this form of tourism, since Jammu and Kashmir has been undergoing death, suffering, violence, or disaster through political tension and instability since 1948 and arguably for a generation earlier. The study tried to identify and analyse both the existing resources of the region and institutional requirements for potential development of dark tourism in Jammu and Kashmir and considerations for future of dark tourism industry in Jammu and Kashmir.