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The inner struggle of visiting ‘dark tourism’ sites: examining the relationship
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The inner struggle of visiting ‘dark tourism’ sites:

examining the relationship between perceived
constraints and motivations

Chunhui Zheng, Jie Zhang, Lili Qian, Claudia Jurowski, Honglei Zhang &
Bingjin Yan

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Current Issues in Tourism, 2016
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2016.1220512

The inner struggle of visiting ‘dark tourism’ sites: examining the

relationship between perceived constraints and motivations
Chunhui Zhenga, Jie Zhanga, Lili Qiana, Claudia Jurowskib, Honglei Zhanga* and
Bingjin Yana
a
Department of Land Resources and Tourism Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu
210023, People’s Republic of China; bSchool of Hotel and Restaurant Management, Northern
Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA
(Received 26 January 2016; accepted 31 July 2016)

Numerous conflicting factors impact the tourism decision process especially as it relates
to dark tourism, that is, tourism that focuses on mortality. This research examines the
relationships among constraints and motivational factors that affect tourists’ decision
to visit the Memorial of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre in China. Seven
dimensions of constraints were revealed with the most important factor being an
interest in other leisure activities. Of the three motivational factors discovered, the
obligation the respondents feel to visit the site was discovered to be the most
important. The major contribution of this research is its analysis of the relationship
between motivations and constraints and the discovery that there are both positive
and negative relationships between constraint and motivation factors. The most
important finding may be that an increase in curiosity motivation may result in a
decrease in disinterest constraints but an increase in the strength of the constraint of
Chinese cultural perspectives on death and taboos. The findings suggest that the most
effective marketing might not focus too much on the development of curiosity but on
other motives, such as obligation and education.
Keywords: constraints; motivations; dark tourism; death; Nanjing Massacre

Introduction
The practice of visiting dark tourism sites, which are defined by their focus on death, may
be considered by some as ‘ghoulish’ (Beech, 2000, p. 29). However, dark tourism has
become increasingly prevalent over the last two decades (Collins-Kreiner, 2015; Podoshen,
2013; Stone & Sharpley, 2008). Researchers have identified emotional, psychological and
social–cultural aspects of dark tourism consumption (Stone, 2005; Tarlow, 2005). The intri-
cacies of this phenomenon are also reflected in many ostensibly contradictory concepts
embedded together, such as death/life (Stone & Sharpley, 2008), fear/fun (Buda, 2015),
escape/face (Qian, 2009), forget/remember (Winter, 2015) and deviant leisure/cultural prac-
tice (Stone & Sharpley, 2013).
Plato, in The Republic IV, 360BC, as cited by Stone and Sharpley (2013), describes the
contradiction thus:

Leontius … when he saw some dead bodies … and he felt a desire to look at them, and at the
same time felt disgust at the thought, and tried to turn aside … For some time he fought with

*Corresponding author. Email: lilymagician@gmail.com

© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

2 C. Zheng et al.

himself … but in the end the desire got the better of him, and opening his eyes wide with his
fingers he ran forward to the bodies. (58)

In addition to demonstrating conflicting concepts, the passage illuminates dark tourism’s

challenge to cultural norms and taboos (Stone & Sharpley, 2013). Furthermore, the
passage provides a vivid description of the interaction between perceived constraints and
motivations.
The conflict between constraints and motivations is evidenced in other types of tourism
as well. Brin’s (2006) discussion of tourism in Jerusalem proposes that political instability
can both deter and attract tourism. Another example is provided in Canally and Timothy’s
(2007) study of Mexican tourism. Their research found Mexican food to be a motivation for
travel to Mexico. However, food quality appeared to be a salient barrier. Even cultural
tourism research demonstrates the conflicts between motivation and constraints. In the
Brunei case study, uniqueness emerged as the most important image attribute but the unfa-
miliar nature of the culture appeared to be the most significant constraint (Chen, Chen, &
Okumus, 2013).
Despite the important consequences for marketing, the relationship between travel con-
straints and motivations has received little attention in tourism research. To date, most
studies have analysed motivation or constraint individually, which has resulted in ostensibly
conflicting findings. For instance, Biran, Liu, Li, and Eichhorn (2014) indicate that the
newly dark attributes of the Wenchuan earthquake motivate some people to visit, as
opposed to Rittichainuwat’s (2011) finding that the disaster inhibits visitation. In addition,
emotions have been suggested as motivators for visiting a concentration camp memorial
site; however, fear, despair and amazement are found to have a significant negative corre-
lation with intrinsic motivations (Nawijn, Isaac, Gridnevskiy, & Liempt, 2015). Moreover,
the few studies that incorporate both constraints and motivations in analysing travellers’
decision-making processes have simply followed the supposition that constraints and
motivations are unrelated (Hung & Petrick, 2012a, 2012b). Thus, the relationship
between different constraints elements and dimensions of motivation needs further
exploration.
To address the aforementioned gaps, this study will examine the motivations and con-
straints of individuals who are confronted with the decision to visit the Memorial of the
Victims of the Nanjing Massacre, China. The memorial represents one of the most iconic
dark tourism sites for Chinese nationals and therefore merits greater academic attention
(Braithwaite & Leiper, 2010; Wall, 2008). By identifying the relationship between the
dimensions of constraints and motivation within the realm of dark tourism, this study
may contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the subtle psychology of dark
tourism. Additionally, the findings may provide more relevant information and insight
for tourism management.

Literature review
The concept of dark tourism includes visitation to sites of death, atrocities and tragedies,
especially those sites that create fearful emotions. Dark tourism has been defined as visita-
tion to spaces where death has occurred or deathscapes by Maddrell and Sidaway (2010).
The enigma of using sites of atrocities as tourist attractions has been discussed by Beech
(2000), and the terms dark tourism (Lennon & Foley, 2000) and morbid (Blom, 2000)
suggest negative connotations (Nawijn & Fricke, 2015). Some scholars suggest that fear
can be a motivator for visitation to morbid sites (Buda, 2015; Isaac & Çakmak, 2014).
 Current Issues in Tourism 3

For example, Tuan (2013) attached the label of Landscape of Fear to dark tourism sites.
Stone and Sharpley (2013) argue that taboo activities surrounding sites of death have
recently become more common in modern Western society and that it is neither dark nor
deviant to engage in death-related tourism. However, Rittichainuwat (2011) argues that a
fear of ghosts actually prevents Asian people from visiting areas affected by tsunamis. Con-
versely, Huang, Chuang, and Lin (2008) verify that social taboos indirectly inhibit Asian
tourists’ intentions to visit tsunami-affected areas through perceptions of risk. There may
be significant differences in constraints and motivations resulting from differences in the
way social and cultural groups view death, taboos, and the eventuality and consequences
of death (Stone, 2012).
The results of studies of attitudes relating to visitation of Holocaust sites are mixed.
Research has attributed the obligation felt by many Jewish people to visit Holocaust sites
to the need to connect to the collective identity developed through a shared past (Kugel-
mass, 1994). Yet, other studies show a reluctance to visiting sites of atrocity (Podoshen
& Hunt, 2011). Podoshen and his colleague suggest the considerable animosity stemming
from the large-scale victimization deters Jewish Americans from visiting Germany as a
leisure travel destination. They point out that this avoidance behaviour can be attributed
to a need for equity restoration, controllability and discounting (Podoshen, 2006; Podoshen
& Hunt, 2009, 2011). Continuing conflicts related to Holocaust sites were revealed in
studies that demonstrated an interest in and a resistance to visiting sites that evoke the
painful memory of Holocaust atrocities (Cohen, 2011; Kidron, 2013; Tumarkin, 2007;
Zhang, Yang, Zheng, & Zhang, 2016). Terms such as heritage that hurts (Zhang et al.,
2016) were used to describe tourism sites that may arose traumatic feelings or evoke men-
ticide. Qian (2009) explored the dilemma of facing or escaping from past traumas for those
with personal and intimate connections to the morbid sites. The complex and subtle internal
conflicts revealed by previous research suggests a need to understand the motivations and
conflicts visitors to dark tourism sites experience as they negotiate their need to connect to
the event and their feelings of resistance to do so.

Dark tourism motivations

The study of the internal motivational psychological factors has been critical to understand-
ing why people travel (Crompton & McKay, 1997). Consequently, the complex combi-
nation of sociological and psychological factors that inspire and engage dark tourism has
received much academic attention (Sharpley & Stone, 2009; Stone, 2012). The psychology
and emotions related to death and dying have been the salient focus of dark tourism motiv-
ation research (Stone, 2005; Zheng, Zhang, Zhang, & Qian, 2016). Some research on dark
tourism motivation has followed a descriptive approach (Isaac & Çakmak, 2014) that
revealed a broad range of motives. Dann (1998) proposes eight types of motives for dark
tourism, including dicing with death, fear of phantom, novelty, nostalgia and bloodlust.
Dunkley, Morgan, and Westwood (2007) suggest 12 categories of motives, such as
special interest, validation, self-discovery and pilgrimage.
Biran et al. (2014) propose three classifications of dark tourism motives, that is, morbid
fascination with death, mortality-related motives or leisure-pursuit motives. The latest
research has explored additional concepts. Consequently, a review of the literature suggests
that dark tourism motives can be classified as death/life-related motives, education and
remembrance, or leisure-pursuit motives. The earliest studies viewed the morbid fascination
with death as the main component of dark tourism (Hughes, 2008: Seaton, 1996; Slade,
2003). Later studies examined the interest in death as a contemplation of life and mortality
4 C. Zheng et al.

(Stone, 2011, 2012; Stone & Sharpley, 2008). Other researches proposed that the purpose of
visiting sites of death may be an effort to make sense of horrific dehumanizing events or to
stimulate a strong emotional response (Podoshen, 2013; Podoshen, Venkatesh, Wallin,
Andrzejewski, & Jin, 2015). The research on education and remembrance identified motiv-
ations related to benefits the visitor to death sites experienced. Research recognized the
ability to validate and believe in the historical accounting of the event as one of the benefits.
Other benefits determined by researchers included the fulfilment of an obligation, or pilgrim-
age, the development of one’s national identity and memory development (Biran, Poria, &
Oren, 2011; Dunkley, Morgan, & Westwood, 2011; Kang, Scott, Lee, & Ballantyne, 2012;
Yan, Zhang, Zhang, Lu, & Guo, 2016). The third category of dark tourism motivation
research, leisure-pursuit motives, resembles research on hedonistic tourism motivations
(Biran & Poria, 2012), that is, entertainment, socialization, escape, relaxation and novelty-
seeking (Biran et al., 2014; Dunkley et al., 2011; Isaac & Çakmak, 2014; Winter, 2011).
While there is a broad range of motives that may explain dark tourism site motivation, it is
important to recognize that these motivations are effected by internal conflicts that the experi-
ence creates (Biran et al., 2014). Motives encourage individuals to approach the site while the
thought of evoking unpleasant emotions results in avoidance behaviour.

Constraints to dark tourism

Research on dark tourism avoidance behaviours is scarce when compared to the amount of
research related to motivational factors (Podoshen & Hunt, 2011; Zhang et al., 2016).
Studies that address demotivating factors include an examination of the taboos or cultural
beliefs that inhibit visits to sites of death, atrocities and human tragedy (Nawijn et al., 2015;
Rittichainuwat, 2011). Wang (2015) researched fear of ghosts, unpleasant feelings and risk
while Podoshen and Hunt (Podoshen, 2006; Podoshen & Hunt, 2009, 2011) wrote on the
development of feelings of animosity related to a distressing event and the arousal of the
need for equity restoration.
A richer source of research on constraints to tourism can be found in the main stream
tourism literature, such as cruise tourism (Hung & Petrick, 2010, 2012a, 2012b), inter-
national travel (Chen et al., 2013; Lai, Li, & Harrill, 2013), nature-based tourism (Nyaupane
& Andereck, 2008; Pennington-Gray & Kerstetter, 2002) and event tourism (Funk, Alex-
andris, & Ping, 2009; Kim & Chalip, 2004). Travel constraints studies focus on factors
that limit the formation of travel preferences, hinder participation and or enjoyment and
inhibit future travelling (Hung & Petrick, 2012b; Jackson, 1991, p. 279; Zhang, Zhang,
Cheng, Lu, & Shi, 2012). The most widely used model in tourism constraints research is
the hierarchical model of leisure constraints (Crawford & Godbey, 1987; Crawford,
Jackson, & Godbey, 1991), which suggests that the three categories of constraints (i.e. intra-
personal, interpersonal and structural) influence leisure participation in a sequential order.
Intrapersonal constraints, which refers to individual psychological attributes and states, is
considered to be the most proximal and powerful factor affecting preference that might
lead to non-participation (e.g. lack of interest, emotion and perceived self-skill) (Crawford
& Godbey, 1987; Hudson & Gilbert, 2000; Pennington-Gray & Kerstetter, 2002). The next
level is interpersonal constraints, which addresses social interaction (e.g. having no friends
for accompaniment to the site). The most distal factor is structural constraints, which mainly
involves the external environment (e.g. lack of time, money, distance and attributes of the
place). Thus, participants in travel activities are those who have successfully negotiated and
overcome a series of constraints in succession (Crawford et al., 1991; Gilbert & Hudson,
2000).
 Current Issues in Tourism 5

A limited number of researchers have studied both constraints and motivations in ana-
lysing tourism-related decisions (Funk et al., 2009). The work of Huang and Hsu (2009)
revealed a statistically significant influence of the disinterest constraints and shopping
motivations on the intention to revisit a tourist destination. Similarly, a study by Hung
and Petrick (2012a, 2012b) examined the impact of constraints and motivations on inten-
tions to go on a cruise. However, except for the study by Kim and Chalip (2004) who
researched the mediating effect of risk and financial constraints on tourist motivations,
the approach/avoidance behaviours have been studied as unrelated factors.
In summary, knowledge of the interrelationship between constraints and motivations is
limited (Biran et al., 2014; Lennon & Foley, 2000). Furthermore, there is a dearth of infor-
mation about the hesitancy and internal conflict of those who avoid dark tourism sites. This
study addresses the aforementioned gaps in knowledge by, first, exploring the constraining
and motivating factors that impact the decision-making process related to visiting dark
tourism sites and, second, clarifying the relationship between dimensions of constraints
and motivating factors.

Methods
Measurement scale
The questionnaire used in this research was developed following procedures recommended
by Churchill (1979). An item pool was generated from a review of prior literature on dark
tourism and on constraints (Huang & Hsu, 2009; Hung & Petrick, 2012a; Kang et al.,
2012). Questions on motivations and deterrents to visiting the Memorial were derived
from in-depth interviews and web-based content analysis. Additional items were found
in 320 travel diaries recorded in a leading travel social media site in China. The initial
set of items was reviewed by six tourism researchers to determine whether the items
selected were applicable, appropriate and clear for measuring theoretical constructs.
After a pilot survey on 100 Chinese individuals who had been to Nanjing before, 2
items of motivation were deleted because of low item-to-total correlations (i.e. less than
0.3) or cross-loadings (Parasuraman, Zeithaml, & Berry, 1988). Prior to data analysis,
the reliabilities of the measurement scale were tested. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was
beyond 0.82, and Cronbach’s alpha coefficient scores were higher than 0.87. This indicated
that the items had satisfactory reliability and needed no further elimination. The resulting
measurements contain two sections. The first section was composed of the items to
measure visitors’ constraints, including intrapersonal constraints (15 items), interpersonal
constraints (2 items) and structural constraints (6 items). The constraints were assessed
using a 5-point scale (1 = totally disagree, 5 = totally agree). The second section of the ques-
tionnaire aimed to capture visitors’ motives for visiting the Memorial. The nine questions
included in this survey instrument were derived from previous studies on dark tourism
motivation (Biran et al., 2011; Kang et al., 2012; Podoshen, 2013) as well as the interviews.
Respondents were asked to indicate the level of importance for each statement of motiv-
ation (1 = not at all and 5 = very important).

Data collection
The subject of the study is attitudes of university students towards visiting the Memorial of
the Victims of the Nanjing Massacre. This memorial is an iconic dark tourism site built in
1985 in Nanjing, China with the purpose of drawing national and international attention to
the atrocities that occurred in 1937. Nanjing Massacre, also called ‘the Rape of Nanjing’,
6 C. Zheng et al.

was executed on 13 December 1937 in Nanjing, the capital of China at that time. It is among
the worst atrocities during the Second World War, but it has not received much attention and
has been called a ‘forgotten holocaust’ (Chang, 1997). In 2014, 13 December was desig-
nated as the National Memorial Day for those who were killed in this massacre by
China’s top legislature. Only recently were the Documents of Nanjing Massacre inscribed
in the Memory of the World (UNESCO, 2015). The memorial includes the execution
grounds and the largest burial site. Visitors approach the memorial via a path lined with
symbolic sculptures at the end of which stands a 300-square metre museum that creates
the illusion of a tomb. Inside the museum is a hall displaying historical records of the mas-
sacre and a coffin-shaped memorial containing the bones of the victims. The goals of the
memorial are to encourage world peace and stimulate patriotism by passing down memories
and meanings from generation to generation thereby creating a collective sense of national
identity (Cooke, 2000; Museum, 2014; Podoshen & Hunt, 2011; Zubek, 2014). The success
of the latter goal depends upon involving the third-generation memory groups of which uni-
versity students are an important component (Stone, 2012). The importance of understand-
ing the internal conflict of university students cannot be understated. Research has shown
university students to be the most important target market of holocaust sites (Mowatt &
Chancellor, 2011; Nager, Pham, & Gold, 2013). Consequently, full-time students from uni-
versities in Nanjing comprise a theoretically ideal population of potential visitors who may
be experiencing the psychological process of determining whether or not to visit the target
dark tourism site.
Data on the motivations and constraints of the university student population were gath-
ered by distributing 500 questionnaires in libraries and classrooms of 11 universities in
Nanjing from March to June 2014. After cleaning the data and removing cases with
missing or clearly mismarked responses, 460 surveys remained in the analysis resulting
in a response rate of 92%.

Data analysis methods

Mean scores of the statements expressing agreement with statements of constraint and the
importance of motivations were computed on the cleaned data. Then, exploratory factor
analysis using VARIMAX rotation was performed on the calibration sample (n = 234) to
identify the underlying concepts in both sections of questions using a portion of the
responses. Items that cross-loaded were eliminated. The exploratory factor analysis pro-
cedure was followed by confirmatory factor analysis to determine whether the underlying
structures remained tenable with the validation sample (n = 226). Finally, Pearson’s corre-
lation was performed to determine the relationship between the constraint and motivation
dimensions.

Findings
Descriptive statistics showed that the percentage of female respondents (67%) was almost
double that of their male counterparts (33%), which conforms to the average ratio of women
to men in Chinese universities. The ages of the participants varied from 17 to 36 years. The
dominant group was those aged 17–21 years, which was 65% of the participants, followed
by 22–26 (30.9%). In total, 67% of the participants were first-time visitors, while 33% of
the participants had visited the Memorial more than once.
The analysis of the means of the 23 constraint items found the highest level of agree-
ment to be with statements that indicated more interest in going to relaxing and pleasant
 Current Issues in Tourism 7

places (x = 3.32), fear of being depressed (x = 3.21), lack of courage (x = 3.17) and pre-
ference for natural scenic areas (x = 3.14). Of the nine motivational statements, the state-
ments in the obligation and education factor demonstrated the highest level of importance
with mean scores above 3.5. The obligation to keep in mind the humiliation of the event for
the continuation of national memory was seen as the most important motivator (x = 4.02)
followed closely by the importance of the obligation to visit the site as a Chinese national
(x = 3.99). Motivations that appear to be less important with mean scores of less than 3.0
include interest in the site of the massacre (x = 2.98), recommendations from friends
(x = 2.97) and curiosity (x = 2.96). The mean scores of all the items in the survey are
listed in Tables 1 and 2.

The results of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis on the constraint items
are given in Table 1. Seven factors explained 70.52% of the total variance. The factors
identified were:

(1) Traumatic memory which expresses a concern about feeling uncomfortable or upset
when faced with the tragedy
(2) Emotions of fear and depression
(3) Taboos and cultural ideas imposed by society
(4) Disinterest or preference for pleasure
(5) Interpersonal constraints such as lack of a companion or recommendations to visit
(6) Time/distance/information
(7) Competing attractions

The confirmatory factor analysis on the validation sample (n = 226) found the factors to
be stable across the two samples. Additionally, values of standardized factor loadings were
statistically significant at the 0.05 level or better, with t-values greater than 1.96. The fit
indicators showed that this measurement model (χ2/df = 1.851, p < .000, Root Mean
Squared Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.061, Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.93,
Goodness of Fit index (GFI) = 0.89, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) = 0.93, Incremental Fit
Index (IFI) = 0.93) is satisfactory (Carmines & McIver, 1981; Hu & Bentler, 1999).
When the same procedures were applied to the motivation items, three factors that
explained 66.11% of the variance emerged. Table 2 presents the results of both the explora-
tory and confirmatory factor analysis. The largest portion of the variance (38.07%) was
explained by the second factor labelled social reasons because it contained items that
related to social pressures. Another factor that explained 16.52% was called obligation
and education because it contained items of pressures related to obligations derived from
education. The third factor, curiosity and contemplating life and death, reflects the partici-
pants’ interest in contemplating death and mortality. All fit indices of the confirmatory
factor analysis with the validation sample (n = 226) suggest that the structure has a satisfac-
tory fit (χ2/df = 1.762, p < .000, RMSEA = 0.058, CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.93, IFI = 0.97). Obli-
gation and education emerged as the foremost motivation (with the highest mean
scores,x = 3.83), which coincides with the findings of Kang et al. (2012). Similarly,
Slade (2003) suggests that a sense of patriotism motivates Australians and New Zealanders
to visit Gallipoli every year.
The results of the correlation analysis performed on the constraint factors and motiv-
ation factors are presented in Table 3. The most important factor to the respondents, obli-
gation and education was found to be significantly negatively related to the lack of interest
factor. No other correlations were found for the obligation motivation factor. On the
Table 1. Factor analysis of perceived constraint items.

8
Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA)
(n = 234) (n = 226)

C. Zheng et al.
Variance Standard factor t- Composite
Factor and item Mean Loading Eigenvalue explained (%) loadings (SFL) Value reliability (CR)
Intrapersonal constraints
Traumatic memory (EFA = 0.78) 1.76 8.36 0.81
Cons1: Because of its history of humiliation, I do not want to 2.49 0.81 0.60 9.151
visit.
Cons2: Having seen some relevant movies, historical data, etc., 2.81 0.79 0.82 13.37
which are quite tragic, I do not want to visit.
Cons3: I do not have enough courage to face the deep suffering 3.17 0.69 0.78 12.70
of our compatriots.
Emotions of fear and depression (EFA = 0.71) 6.10 29.06 0.85
Cons5: I have some fears about visiting a place like this. 2.78 0.74 0.87 15.77
Cons6: I am afraid that I might come across a disturbing scene 2.73 082 0.85 15.16
when visiting.
Cons7: I worry about the possibility of depression/ 2.96 0.77 0.72 11.77
psychological disturbances after the visit.
Cons8: I am afraid that I might feel very depressed after 3.21 0.71 0.62 9.78
visiting.
Taboos and cultural ideas (EFA = 0.76) 0.979 4.66 0.77
Cons9: The Memorial is a place where millions of people are 2.34 0.66 0.70 10.72
buried, which might bring bad luck to visitors.
Cons10: Visiting places like this is a taboo behaviour for me. 2.02 0.79 0.80 12.81
Cons11: Death is a topic that we are unwilling to mention and 2.47 0.72 0.68 10.46
discuss in everyday life.
Disinterest (EFA = 0.73) 1.08 5.15 0.77
Cons13: I am not interested in such places. 2.38 0.46 0.56 8.19
Cons14: I am more inclined to go to a relaxing and pleasant 3.32 0.84 0.88 13.78
place.
Cons15: I am much more interested in natural scenic areas. 3.14 0.83 0.69 10.93
Interpersonal constraints (EFA = 0.45) 0.875 4.17 0.70
Cons17: I have no companion with whom to visit the 2.55 0.76 0.60 7.69
Memorial.
Cons18: My relatives and friends did not recommend that I 1.85 0.71 0.57 7.41
visit.
Structural constraints
Time/distance/information (EFA = 0.73) 1.25 5.97 0.79
Cons19: It wastes a lot of time to visit, and it is difficult to find 2.15 0.85 0.86 18.96
the time to do so.
Cons20: The memorial is so far away that it is inconvenient for 2.38 0.89 0.75 11.21
me to visit.
Cons21: There is not enough information for me to visit. 2.43 0.47 0.46 6.23
Competing attractions (EFA = 0.79) 2.76 13.16 0.73
Cons22: There are many better attractions in Nanjing. 2.52 0.84 0.85 18.86
Cons23: I have not even spared the time to visit Nanjing’s most 2.41 0.75 0.88 15.83
iconic locations yet.
Cons24: Having visited other similar places, I do not want to 2.36 0.45 0.57 8.98
visit.
Total (EFA = 0.87) 70.52

Table 2. Factor analysis of motivation items.

EFA (n = 234) CFA(n = 226)
Variance t-
Factor and item Mean Loading Eigenvalue explained (%) SFL Value CR
Obligation and education (EFA = 0.70) 3.83 1.49 16.52 0.81
Moti1: Accept education related to patriotism. 3.48 0.66 0.74 10.61
Moti2: Feel obligation to visit as a Chinese person. 3.99 0.84 0.69 9.97

Current Issues in Tourism

Moti3: Keep in mind the humiliation of the event for the continuation of national 4.02 0.81 0.58 8.27
memory.
Social reasons (EFA = 0.75) 3.18 3.43 38.07 0.82
Moti6: Visit with friends. 3.22 0.74 0.60 8.69
Moti7: Friends and relatives recommended that I visit. 2.97 0.80 0.85 12.75
Moti8: Accompany friends and relatives to visit when they come to Nanjing. 3.36 0.79 0.62 9.06
Curiosity and contemplating life and death (EFA = 0.67) 3.10 1.04 11.53 0.74
Moti9: Fulfil curiosity related to the site of the Nanjing Massacre and view the 2.96 0.63 0.75 10.71
original remains.
Moti10: Contemplate life and death. 3.36 0.83 0.49 6.80
Moti11: Be interested in the site of a massacre. 2.98 0.63 0.75 10.76
Total (EFA = 0.79) 66.11

9
 10
C. Zheng et al.
Table 3. Correlation test between perceived constraints and motivations (N = 460).
Intrapersonal constraints Structural constraints
Interpersonal
Memory Emotions Taboos Disinterest constraints Time Attractions
Obligation and education Pearson correlation .027 .065 .049 −.136*** −.017 −.045 −.064
Sig. (two-tailed) .562 .163 .295 .003 .712 .339 .169
Social reasons Pearson correlation −.081* .018 .121*** −.078* −.134*** .144*** .084*
Sig. (two-tailed) .084 .704 .010 .093 .004 .002 .072
Curiosity and contemplating life Pearson correlation −.039 .036 .136*** −.107** .142*** .112** .079*
Sig. (two-tailed) .403 .442 .003 .022 .002 .016 .092
Notes: * Correlation is significant at the .1 level (2-tailed).
**(grids in grey shade): Correlation is significant at the .05 level (2-tailed).
***(grids in grey shade): Correlation is significant at the .01 level (2-tailed).
 Current Issues in Tourism 11

contrary, peer pressure in the social reasons factor was positively related to three constraint
factors: taboos, time and distance constraints and competing attractions and negatively
related to the memory, lack of interest and lack of companion or recommendation dimen-
sions. Significant positive correlations were also found between curiosity and contemplat-
ing life motivation factors and four of the seven constraint dimensions: taboos,
interpersonal constraints, time and distance constraints and competing attractions. These
correlations appear to be similar to the correlations of the constraint factors with social
reasons factor with one exception. While the curiosity and contemplating life dimension
is positively correlated with interpersonal constraints aspects, social reasons dimensions
are negatively correlated with the same factor. The results of the correlation test between
perceived constraints and motivations are displayed in Table 3.

Discussion
An important component of this study was to clarify the relationship, if any, between the
seven dimensions of constraints and the three dimensions of motivation using Pearson’s
correlation. As shown in Table 3, traumatic memory was significantly negatively related
to the motivation of social reasons (e.g. visit together with friends) (r = −0.081, p < .1).
This finding is consistent with the finding of Kidron (2013) who found that even though
it is common for the families of survivors to avoid the site of death and atrocity, facing
the traumatic past with family members is among the important motives for visiting the
site. Furthermore, visiting sites of death has been shown to have the potential to enhance
familial relations.
The factor called emotions of fear and depression was not significantly associated with
any of the three dimensions of motivation. This is supported by Nawijn et al.’s (2015) evi-
dence that most emotions (e.g. fear, negative surprise, affection, sadness) are not signifi-
cantly related to extrinsic/intrinsic motivations.
The taboos and cultural ideas factor shows a significant positive relationship with the
factors called social reasons (r = 0.121, p < .01) and curiosity and contemplating life and
death (r = 0.136, p < .01). The more people are motivated by social reasons and curiosity
and contemplating life and death, the more likely they are to encounter higher levels of
the constraint of taboos and cultural ideas. Culture is viewed as the external context in
most leisure constraints studies conducted in North America. However, Chick and Dong
(2003) argue that this may not be applicable in Asian countries. They stress that in
China, culture itself emerges as an important constraint category that proscribes and pre-
scribes people’s behaviours. From ancient times, sites of death are considered to be
‘huiqi’ (bad luck) (Yan et al., 2016). Until now, Chinese culture and taboos are still
deeply engraved on Chinese people’s minds, influencing their daily behaviour. Taboos indi-
cate an unapproachable entity prohibiting a wide range of behaviours (e.g. seeing, talking
and touching) and might create anxiety that misfortune will befall the person if he does not
obey them (Huang et al., 2008). When Chinese people are considering whether to visit this
memorial, the anxiety become much more intense. This is why the respondents noted that
‘The Memorial is a place where millions of people were buried, which might bring bad luck
to visitors’. These findings support previous studies that suggest that culturally held beliefs
(e.g. death taboo, fear of ghosts) deter Asian people from travelling to the ‘inauspicious’
sites of death (e.g. disaster-hit areas, atrocity sites) (Huang et al., 2008; Rittichainuwat,
2011; Zhang et al., 2016). Moreover, as previous studies mainly focus on potential tourists
or non-participants who avoid sites of death, this study contributes to unveiling the subtle
internal conflicts of dark tourists.
12 C. Zheng et al.

The constraint factor called disinterest has a significant negative relationship with all
three dimensions of motivation for visiting sites of death: namely obligation and education
(r = −0.136, p < .01), social reasons (r = −0.078, p < .1) and curiosity and contemplating
life and death (r = −0.107, p < .01). The negative interrelationship between disinterest
and curiosity and contemplation of life and death factors is consistent with traditional
tourism where novelty or curiosity opposes disinterest (Rittichainuwat, Qu, & Leong,
2003). Additionally, the results demonstrate that individuals who feel an internal obligation
compelled by personal desire (Kang et al., 2012) are less likely to express disinterest. In
China, visiting this memorial plays a role similar to ‘red tourism’, a state-promoted edu-
cational tourism to enhance Chinese national identity and perpetuate collective memory
(Zhao & Timothy, 2015).
The interpersonal constraints factor revealed a significantly negative relationship with
the social reasons factor (r = −0.134, p < .01) but a positive relationship with the curiosity
and contemplating life and death factor (r = 0.142, p < .01). The items in the interpersonal
constraints factor play an important role in leisure travels (Huang & Hsu, 2009) as well as
death-related tourism activities (e.g. ‘friends and relatives disapprove of me visiting
tsunami-affected destinations’ (Huang et al., 2008)). The significant negative relationship
between interpersonal constraints and social reasons factors is similar to the findings for
other forms of tourism, as interpersonal constraints (e.g. ‘cannot find travel companions’)
is negatively related to socialization or bonding such as ‘enjoying time with family or
friends’ (Huang & Hsu, 2009; Hung & Petrick, 2012b). In addition, the interpersonal con-
straints factor is found to have a positive relationship with the curiosity and contemplation
of life and death factor. This may be because curiosity solely refer to ones’ personal
preferences or desires; however, family and friends may hold different or even opposite
opinions.
Both the dimensions of structural constraints (i.e. time/distance/information and com-
peting attractions) were found to be significantly positively related to the social reasons
and curiosity and contemplation of life and death dimensions. This may be because the
three types of constraints occur in a hierarchical order (Crawford et al., 1991). Because
intrapersonal constraints act as demotivating forces (Alexandris, Tsorbatzoudis, &
Grouios, 2002), those encountering a high level of intrapersonal constraints and having
little curiosity may not consider visiting sites of death. Thus, they might not encounter
the most distal level of structural constraints (e.g. distance or information). The positive
relationship between the constraint of competing attractions and the motivation of social
reasons may be because dark tourism is not a general socialization method for family
and friends, unlike, for example, travelling for leisure (Rittichainuwat et al., 2003).
When considering the right place for a New Year’s trip with family, many Chinese tourists
chose other beach resorts over tsunami-affected areas (Rittichainuwat, 2006). ‘Seeking luck
and avoiding calamity’ is a Chinese idiom that explains why Chinese people would uncon-
sciously avoid sites of death, especially when accompanying family or friends.

Implications
Visitation to dark tourism sites evokes an internal approach/avoidance conflict which is
little understood (Biran & Hyde, 2013; Buda, 2015). The goal of this study was to
address the need for information about the complicated sociocultural phenomena that
revolves around facing death. By focusing on the darkest edge of the dark tourism spec-
trum, that is, visitation to the Memorial of the Victims of the Nanjing Massacres (Stone,
2006), this study contributes to the body of knowledge in three main areas.
 Current Issues in Tourism 13

First, knowledge relating to constraints to visiting dark tourism has been expanded
beyond the findings of researchers such as Rittichainuwat (2011) to yield a more compre-
hensive understanding of why tourists might avoid visiting sites of death. The constraints
revealed by this work may provide a foundation for research into the seven constraint
dimensions that were revealed.
Second, the understanding of prior researchers such as Alexandris, Funk, and Pritchard
(2011) and Carroll and Alexandris (1997) that constraints and motivations are merely inver-
sely related was found to be incomplete by exposing the positive relationship between con-
straint factors and motivation factors. The empirical results demonstrate that correlations
are not only significantly negative such as curiosity opposing disinterest (Rittichainuwat
et al., 2003) but also significantly positive relationships, such as the relationship between
social peer pressure and five of the constraint factors thereby demonstrating the important
role friends and family play in the decision to visit the site. The understanding of motiv-
ation–constraint relationship can be useful for developing further in-depth research on
the constraints negotiation process.
Third, this study stresses the need to consider both the negative factors (i.e. constraints)
and positive factors (i.e. motivation) to better understand dark tourism psychology. Pre-
vious studies analysed dark tourism motivations or constraints separately and thereby
neglect the internal conflict experienced by dark tourists (Biran et al., 2014). By exploring
the relationships between the two, this study contributes to a more nuanced understanding
of dark tourists’ subtle psychological and emotional processes. To begin with, the obli-
gation and education dimension emerges as one of the foremost motivations helping to alle-
viate the most salient constraint of disinterest, which further supports Kang et al.’s (2012)
and Yan et al.’s (2016) studies that address obligation as a core motivation. Additionally,
leisure-pursuit needs as in the socialization dimension could also be obtained in more relax-
ing environments, compared to sites of death. The empirical results show that the more
people want to travel with their family or friends, the more likely they might substitute
sites of death with competing attractions, which are in line with Rittichainuwat’s (2006)
research. Furthermore, this study argues that actual dark tourists also encounter the con-
straints of taboos and cultural beliefs, not just non-participants (Rittichainuwat, 2011). It
is found that curious Chinese people with a stronger desire to contemplate death might per-
ceive higher levels of the constraint from taboos and cultural ideas as well. In summary,
dark tourists’ decision-making process is a dynamic interaction process between motiv-
ations and constraints.
In terms of practical implications, this study could act as reference for the manage-
ment of dark tourism. Encouraging an internal sense of obligation helps to alleviate
the constraint of disinterest and, in turn, increase visitation. After the designation of
the National Memorial Day for Nanjing Massacre Victims, more people have become
conscious of their obligation to visit the memorial, and the number of visitors has
greatly increased (Yang, 2014). Additionally, managers are encouraged to provide a
meaningful and memorable experience for visitors (Nawijn & Fricke, 2015) so that
these satisfied visitors will spread positive information related to the memorial to their
family and friends. As time passes, positive word-of-mouth will have a clear effect on
future generations’ decision of whether to visit such sites. Moreover, the interpretation
of the memorial should respond to visitors’ emotions of fear and horror (Sharpley &
Stone, 2009) by designating different visiting routes for different subgroups. Specifically,
following the assumption that the sight of unburied bones may be extremely disturbing
for schoolchildren (Cohen, 2011), their visiting route may not include the Mass Grave.
In addition, the significant positive relationship between the desire to contemplate
14 C. Zheng et al.

death and the constraint of taboos and cultural ideas suggests that marketing might not
focus too much on stimulating the desire of contemplating death but on other motives,
such as obligation and education.

Limitations and future research

Due to the multi-faceted and multi-tiered nature of dark tourism as well as the diversity of
demand (Stone & Sharpley, 2008), constraints and their relationship with motivations may
vary among different types of sites of death in different social and cultural contexts. More-
over, people who are personally connected to the site may perceive completely different
types or a different intensity of constraints from those with no connection. The location
of the memorial (e.g. native or ‘now-foreign land’ (Podoshen & Hunt, 2011, p. 1334))
may also play an important role in shaping the constraints encountered by individuals.
It is important to recognize that the dimensions revealed in this research may need to be
validated by a second study. The sample population of university students may not be repre-
sentative of the population. A replication of the study with respondents from multiple gen-
erations or multiple cultures may reveal differences that may be valuable for the
management of destinations. It is important to recognize that the correlations between
the constraints and motivations have been discovered using aggregated data. There may
be value in identifying the relationship between the most salient items to achieve a more
in-depth understanding of the subtleties of the internal struggle created by contemplating
visitation to a dark tourism site.
This study may stimulate the need to explore the motivation–constraint relationship in
the context of other types of dark tourism sites (e.g. disaster sites) and in traditional tourism
destinations. Studies that examine the impact of culture on the relationship may reveal inter-
esting results. Moreover, because the concept of constraints is an important aspect in under-
standing pre-trip and post-purchase behaviour of tourists, there is a need for subsequent
studies to investigate non-participants (Zheng et al., 2016) and visitors (Hung & Petrick,
2012a) to further examine the relationship among constraints, motivations, image, experi-
ence, satisfaction and intent to revisit or recommend.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Funding
This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) [grant numbers
41171121, 41301134, 41501147 and 41301141]; the Ministry of Education (MOE) in China Project
of Humanities and Social Sciences [grant number 13YJC790193]; National Tourism Youth Expert
Training Project [grant number TYETP201525] and the Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Pro-
vince, China [grant number LY13D010007].

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