THE NAKED CITY – SPOTLIGHT ON DARK TOURISM

Books and magazine stories have been written about it, Netflix series filmed and television journalists have revelled in its bravado. Often described as ‘dark tourism’, we’re talking travel to those parts of the world where others would not dare set foot. The danger is not a natural one, like wild animals in the jungle, but from human conflict, political upheaval and authoritarian regimes. 

Whilst most of us look to a safe and relaxing holiday, there is an increasing number of individuals who seek the gratuitous thrills of going somewhere fraught with danger, i.e. imprisonment, kidnapping or even being killed. It’s an experience some would say is educational and enlightening but one which also affords certain bragging rights. Many can say they have ‘been to Bali too’, but what about a trip to North Korea?  

Not surprisingly if you are planning to visit Burkina Faso, where a military coup has just deposed President Kabore or the bombed out villages of post war Syria, there are tour companies ready to accommodate you. Most notable amongst them is ‘Young Pioneer Tours’, a company founded in 2008 by Brit Gareth Johnson and New Zealander Troy Collings. The name is taken from The Vladimir Lenin All-Union Pioneer Organization, a boy scout like youth organization that existed from 1922-1991 in the Soviet Union – although it would appear to have no current political affiliation.

Their website proclaims that “Young Pioneer Tours specialise in taking you to North Korea and other worldwide destinations your mother would rather you stay away from at budget prices.” They currently list a whole range of upcoming tours for 2022 including South Sudan, Chernobyl, Iran, Iraq and Mali to name just a few. All ages are welcome and they note their tours are hosted by experienced guides who work closely with local guides in the various countries.

The company is not without its share of critics however and an article in The Guardian in 2017 reported that “over the years of its operation Young Pioneer Tours has developed a reputation for gung ho and unruly alcohol-fuelled youths…” In 2016 American Otto Warminer, who was travelling on a YPT tour, was arrested in North Korea after a night of heavy drinking in which he attempted to steal a propaganda poster. After 17 months of imprisonment and appalling treatment bordering on torture, he eventually returned to the US where he died shortly after. Not the kind of endorsement you would want to read on Tripadvisor. 

Nevertheless Scott Morrison has recently proclaimed that both incoming and outgoing international tourism is back on the agenda. Perhaps it’s time for local tour operators to embrace the YPT philosophy and offer a variety of down under experiences that rival a drunken night out in Pyongyang or a meet and greet with Boko Haram in Nigeria. 

The increasingly isolated ‘fortress’ Western Australia has almost become our version of North Korea with a border region that is a complete no go zone. How about a tour that begins by secretly dropping punters via helicopter into the Wolfe Creek Meteorite Crater. Our old mates from SAS ‘Oshtralia’ could come to the party here. Pursued by guest ‘guide’ John Jarrett, the tour bus would then embark on an epic overland journey to Perth, travelling only at night and avoiding all sealed roads. Half way there John catches up and the entire tour party is held captive in a remote farm house for a week, forced to watch endless videos of Wolf Creek 2 and endure a 24 hour drip torture soundtrack of Birds Of Tokyo. Finally the entire tour party is airlifted to Christmas Island for three days of recovery in the detention centre, vowing never to return to WA again. 

The possibilities of course are endless. We could easily promote the nuclear test site of Maralinga as our version of Chernobyl, with a one night b’n’b at Lucas Heights thrown in for good measure. The Manus and Nauru detention centres evoke the gulags of Siberia and whilst they are offshore they could be included in an incarceration cruise – if the Ruby Princess ever returns to our waters. Finally, whilst nothing could rival the massive Kim dynasty statues of North Korea, the Big Merino in Goulburn has a certain brutalist, propagandist vibe that could certainly attract dark tourists from around the world, given its own unique personality cult.