Role Of Fear and Empathy: Tourists’ Visiting

Intentions And Behavior in

Dark Tourism Sites

A Research Presented to
Faculty of the College of Hospitality Tourism Management
Don Honorio Ventura State University
Bacolor, Pampanga

In Partial Fulfillment of the

Requirements of the Course

Bachelor of Science in Hospitality Management

Bantigue, Johnbrent D.

Bengco, Arjay S.

Cayanan, Dhaizy Pauline C.

Garcia, Elyzza T.

Miranda, Ana Marie R.

Olalia, John Darlene T.

Pineda, Vincent Aaron D.

(December, 2022)
Abstract
Dark tourism has identified as discrete tourism phenomenon of the 21st century, with an
increasing number of visitors and tourism engaging in dark tourism attractions. In light of this,
the purpose of this study is to assess the level of travelers' intentions for visiting dark tourism
attractions and their behavior as well as the role of fear and empathy. Quantitative research will
be used in this study. In addition, the researchers will use This study used a causal approach to
simply explain how the variables related to one another. The research shows that the most of the
travelers are visiting dark tourism sites with intentions and show behaviors during their visit.
Furthermore, tourists are able to develop positive and negative emotions, and are more likely to
develop empathic emotion. Therefore, tourists’ intention has an impact on the behavior and
emotional state of travelers regardless of their reasons in visiting dark tourism destinations.
Lastly, the researchers further recommend to future researchers to seek for the travel constraints
in dark tourism destinations, since the researchers have given focus on the intentions and
behaviors of travelers.
Keywords: Dark tourism, intentions, behavior, fear, empathy
Introduction

Dark tourism which entails the consumption (by tourists) and presentation of real and
fake death and disaster sites. Dark tourism, specifically, is the act of visiting places where tragic
event, disaster, fatality, distress, and suffering have occurred (Gus & Ando, 2016). Dark tourism
has been around for a while, but only recently has it drawn more academic attention. It is also
known as morbid tourism, thana tourism, blackspot tourism and (Blom, 2012). In line with this,
dark tourism has received much attention since its definition in the 1990s. It is currently the
focus of several studies, even though it is still a small segment of the overall tourism industry.
Dark tourism is now considered a significant area of academic study, encompassing
anthropology, sociology, cultural studies, motivations, and ethics. 2009 (Bissell). In addition,
numerous tourist destinations are directly or indirectly related to death, such as museums,
battlefield or war sites, tragic places, and prison camps. Each dark tourism location represents a
historical event.

The number of travelers has steadily increased as a result of the rise in demand for travel.
(Sharpley, 2012). Every year, a large number of visitors visit places like each year, 3.2 million
visitors come to the 9/11 Memorial at Ground Zero (a year in review, 2017) and Auschwitz
Memorial, with 2.1 million tourists (tourist numbers in 2018). Additionally, one of the most
well-liked locations is Baguio City, Philippines, which boasts a variety of tourist attractions,
including dark tourism sites (Estoque, 2012). Many visitors need to be made aware that they are
all dark tourism destinations.

As the number of visitors to these locations has increased, a variety of factors—including

individual preferences, expectations, motivations, and destination marketing—have also
increased that contribute to their travel intention (Gossage et al.,2011). With that, dark tourists
have a variety of purposes and intentions in visiting dark tourism attractions, including
educational purposes, entertainment, political reasons, reminiscence, economic development
(Stone, 2013), or as a symbol of our fragility and demise. (Stone, 2012). In lieu, the dark tourism
places may also negatively impact visitors. They go for various reasons and show various
behaviors, which helps tour operators determine what is best for them. In an online article
written by Mazin (2019), he mentioned that dark tourism locations could become shire for hate
and bigotry. Disrespect can also be shown in dark tourism sites by other visitors. In line with
this, it was mentioned in the online blog (Dark Tourism & Ethics, 2022) that other dark tourism
sites are designed to entertain travelers rather than to educate, wherein this is another issue The
victims might feel disrespected by this. and may be considered exploitation. On the brighter side
of this Jovanovic, T.; Mijatov, M.; and Šuligoj, M (2021) said that there are still other tourists
who are showing positive behaviors toward this kind of site, including tourists showing
concerned with the victims, having full interest with the location, giving respect regarding the
traffic event and tourists talk in low tone of voice.

The role of emotion in dark tourism is worthy of investigation and paramount (Hodgson
& Wertheim, 2014). Strong emotional reactions can be elicited by dark tourism sites by
definition (Seaton, 2010), and this is typically what is intended (Miles, 2011; Podoshen, 2013).
Emotional responses to each type are likely to differ. (Chang LH 2017), said that visitors to dark
tourism sites may develop emotional resilience as well as a strong sense of geopolitical
orientation. They are more likely to be empathic. Also, a one visitor which are being motivated
by different factors, during their visit they may feel variety of emotions like from being a curious
about something that is unfamiliar and unusual to empathy and sorrow to fear and also anger
(2015; Ashworth & Isaac, 2015). In addition, norm-approved emotions such as compassion,
empathy, sorrow, national pride, or victim are expected from most people.

Previous research has shown that a person's self-belief in their capacity to engage in that
behavior strongly influences that person's behavior (Badura et., 2012). As a result of how self-
efficacy helps to explain different relationships between beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and
behavior. In comparison, self-efficacy also shapes the empathic emotion correlated with
behavioral intentions. Empathy, a positive emotion, could indicate a motivation or intention for
tourists to visit and revisit dark location sites (Decety, 2015). However, with the fear emotion, it
was mentioned (Witte, 2011) that fear is powerful, but it can also backfire if misused. Fear and
behavioral intentions related to dark tourism have a negative outcome since these sites mostly
have dark pasts with different stories involving scary and paranormal activity (Lee, 2021). This
affects the behavioral intentions of tourists wherein they could develop fear as a long-term effect
to them, and they will not come back to that location (Wu & Cheng, 2010)

Experience of an individual can be subjective (Martini & Buda, 2018), and there can be
both positive and negative outcomes (Nawijn & Fricke, 2013). (Iliev, 2020; Sharma & Nayak,
2019). Positive has been studied by a variety of researchers (Best et.al 2015) and unfavorable
feelings in dark tourism (Austin, 2015; Miles, 2016; Nawijn & Biran, 2018).

Despite the studies mentioned above, Issac and Ashworth (2015) stated Different visitors
may have different experiences when visiting dark tourist destinations (for example, a
destination that one user finds to be "dark" may not be for another); but, the authors argue that no
site is genuinely "dark." Furthermore, Stone (2015) said in one of his books that there are still
other general motives and intentions of people traveling to such destinations because they vary
so greatly and how dark tourism sites may affect the behavior of travelers. Therefore, this
research study aims to know the level of tourists with their intention to visit the dark tourism
attractions and to observe the behavior of tourists during their visit. Another general intent of this
research is to ascertain the relation of tourists' intentions in the dark tourism destinations and the
behavior that affects their revisit intention. Lastly, to observe how the fear and empathy emotions
affect tourists' intentions and behavior.

The Objective of the Study

In this modern era, people are now fascinated with the places that deal with death, pain,
disaster, and attractions associated with tragedy. With this, this research will be
conducted with the objective that it will aim to describe the visiting intentions and
behavior of tourists in dark tourism sites and further seek to observe the following
specific objectives.
 To know the tourists' intentions in visiting dark tourism places in Baguio City
 To describe the behavior of tourists in dark tourism sites of Baguio City
  To ascertain the tourists' visiting intentions in dark tourism sites and their relationship to
traveler behavior
 To observe the role of fear and empathy in the relationship between tourists' intentions
and behaviors as a mediator.
Statement of the Problem
People are now increasingly drawn to dark tourism destinations. Whereas travelers' intentions in
dark tourism destinations differ and may affect the behavior of tourists; and may trigger and feel
negative and positive emotions. With the observation of the background of the study, the
researchers, therefore, developed and sought to answer the following:
1. How may the intentions of tourists in visiting dark tourism destinations in Baguio City be
observed?
2. How may the behavior of tourists in dark tourism sites of Baguio City be determined?
3. How may the relationship between tourists' visiting intentions and behavior be
ascertained?
4. How may the role of fear and empathy in dark tourism sites of Baguio City be observed?

Significance of the Study

The significance of this study is to know and determine the visiting intentions and behavior in
places that falls under dark tourism and the role of fear and empathy. This research study will
provide more understanding to travelers, and it will broaden their knowledge about the dark
tourism locations. In this course of the research, various benefactors and sectors are expected to
benefit.
Travelers. This study will be beneficial to travelers as this study will provide knowledge, ideas,
and information for travelers fascinated with the place of death and tragedy.
The foundation of the Institute for dark tourism research (iDTR)- this will be beneficial to
them as this study is focus on dark tourism sites in Baguio, City Philippines, and they can use
this as a reference for knowing the possible intentions and behaviors of tourists in dark tourism
locations.

Municipality of Baguio. This study will be helpful to the municipality of Baguio to gain more
knowledge and expertise for the tourists visiting dark tourism locations in the area.

Educational Institutions. This study will be helpful to the students, specifically tourism
students, to understand the visiting intention of tourists in dark tourism sites. This study would
be enough to know the effect and impact of dark tourism locations in the emotional state of
travelers and how it may affect travelers’ behavior.

Future researchers. This study will also make future researchers know the reasons and
experiences of travelers visiting dark tourism sites. This will also serve as a reference for their
future research.

Scope and Limitations

This study primarily focuses on the dark tourism destinations of Baguio City,
Philippines. Specifically, the visiting intentions and behavior of the travelers with locations that
falls under dark tourism and their relationship, as well as the role of fear and empathy. The target
sources of the study are delimited with archival records, thesis papers, journal articles, online
magazines, blogs from publications, and feature essays that talked about and featured dark
tourism. Moreover, the study will only address other issues necessary to the researchers' study.
Respondents must be tourists who have visited dark tourist locations in Baguio.
Review of Related Literature
The fascination with death, suffering and the growth of dark tourism destinations is
associated to the curiousness about death and humanity's darker sides (Foley, 2009; Fonseca et
al., 2016). Seaton (2011) mentioned although the connection between the death and tourism, or
thana tourism, arose in the 19th century, dark tourism has only recently come under more
scholarly scrutiny (Bira, 2013 et. al)). Additionally, as the increasing prominence of death
studies as a miltifaceted investigation focus attests, there is a broadening increase in interest in
topics related to death and dying within the social sciences. (Light, 2017). (Light, 2017) The
University of Central Lancashire (UK) has established the Institute of Dark Tourism Research
(IDTR).
Along this line of concern, Blom (2000), stated that several nations made an effort to
include dark tourism as a product in their tourism industries after it was recognized as a
phenomenon. Furthermore, many destinations worldwide put in place a structure to support this
new offering, making dark tourism a vital part of a country's economy and image. Whereby a
deluge of the new sites, destinations, and exhibitions are increasing around the world. The dark
side of travel is being catered to by a plethora of new locations, events, and exhibitions that are
popping up all over the place for those who want to travel and observe actual or reenacted death
(Sharpley & Stone, 2009).
Supporting these statements, Daams (2007) said dark tourism had expanded to be a vital
part of the sector travel and tourism. Furthermore, it is the practice of traveling to sites and
locations where some of the most horrific incidents in human history have taken place. That can
include war, ethnic cleansing, natural or unintentional disasters, assassinations, incarceration,
and imprisonment that can include massacre, killings, incarceration, race extermiation, war, or
natural or accidental disaster. Also, dark tourism is defined as a synthesis of history, tragedy,
heritage, and tourism. (Niemelä, 2010) with multifaceted explanations that are difficult to
comprehend. In addition, with all of that, there are surveys taken with the Americans regarding
the different dark tourism types War/battlefield tourism is appealing to 56% of people
(recreational travel to active or former war zones). Visits to places where environmental
disasters, whether caused by humans or natural disasters, have occurred: 56%. Cemetery tourism,
or the study of cemeteries for their artistic, architectural, historical, and natural heritage, accounts
for 53% of all tourism. 52% of people engage in ghost tourism, which is any type of leisure
travel that involves coming across ghosts or learning about hauntings (or both). 50% of travelers
engage in nuclear tourism, visiting sites of atomic explosions visiting sites connected to the
purposeful mass murder of a particular nation or ethnic group in order to eradicate (49% for that
country or group) (The rise of Dark Tourism, 2022 study).
Mowatt and Chancellor (2011) proposed that despite the various names, the concept is
centered on traveling to places of demise, which are often connected with the violence (Robb,
2009).
Tourists Intentions
According to research, for a variety of reasons, tourists travel to places with dark tourism.
including interest in history or death, curiosity (Biran et al., 2014), a desire for learning
and knowing about what occurred at the site (Kamber et al., 2016), and others (Yankholmes
et.al., 2015), a desire to connect with one's personal or family history (Mowatt et. al., 2011) and
some people visit dark tourism sites because they have a strong desire to learn about curtain
places with dark histories(Biran, 2014).
Supporting the mentioned studies, They typically lack emotion and may not interact with
the site as a burial ground because these tourists only intended to have a great time. The
destination may draw tourists for different reasons compared to dark tourism, including
photography and instruction. When the driving forces behind visitors' decisions to visit dark
heritage sites in Cyprus were investigated, it was discovered that while the concept of death was
incorporated to improve visitors' experiences, the dark tourism sites' main objectives were
educational and memorial, and as a result they also served as places of commemoration and
education (Raine,2013). One reason for visiting memorials and graveyards is the desire to learn
and comprehend. While some visitors display a strong desire for an emotional connection to their
heritage and an emotional response to the "dark" space influence (Gallipoli, 2011), other visitors
may be seeking knowledge who are most likely interested in gaining a deeper understanding than
an emotional one as (Yan, Zhang, Lu, Guo, 2016) argues. Dark tourism piques one's interest and
satisfies one's desire to learn about past suffering and pain (Sharpley & Stone, 2021). In line with
this, Preece and Price (2013), mentioned that on interviews with visitors, interest in heritage sites
is what stands out the most with their intentions of visiting and tourists with considerable interest
about the past are probably to visit more dark tourism places.
Despite the intentions being mentioned by different researchers, Stone (2015) contends
that due to their wide variation, it is challenging to ascertain the general intentions and
motivations of people visiting such locations. Nevertheless, these motives have yet to be
declared as concrete answers.

Tourists' Behavior
The most significant predictor of potential tourist behavior is the behavior of tourists. A
tourist's behavior of a single person can also be a sign of other tourists' behavior when taking into
account in the social role of tourists. Tourists establish social norms of behavior in the context of
tourism through their actions and behavior. Other travellers follow these guidelines, both those
who are already traveling or visiting places and those who have not yet done so. (Juvan et al.,
2017).
In the study (Podoshenm, 2013), in dark tourism, tourists are classified as "blackpackers"
this is a given term used for Black metal fans who participate in tourism activities, where they
visit locations where acts of violence against black metal musicians and fans have occurred in
addition to taking tours to experience festivals and live music. According to Rucinska (2016), the
traveler has a mix of characteristics that make it difficult to categorize their tourism movement.
Swarbrooke (2013; Blom, 2012) employs a tourist classification based on attraction. He
differentiates four types of attractions: natural sites, artifacts, facilities, and arrangements.
Moreover, regarding the classifications of tourists of, Burns and Holden (2010; Blom, 2012, p.
30) said that adventurers are people who enjoy trying new things and experiencing diverse
cultures. In addition, Blom (2020) notes that those who demand the frightening and unknown,
which is an adventure, are those who seek it out. .
Visitors may include victims' families and friends who are frequently strongly connected
to dark happenings. The tight physical spaces and intangible forms, such as memorial rituals and
ceremonies, might serve as triggers for memories and flashbacks of the dark occurrences while
they are there (Qian et al., 2017). Furthermore, as cited by (Martini & Buda, 2020), a person's
capacity to experience sensations, emotions, and physiological reflections without being aware
of them is known as affect. Lewis et al. (2021) also added that most visitors to dark tourism sites
are more likely concerned, intrigued, and curious about these places during their tour. Moreover,
Poria et al. (2016) added that thrill seekers who are into paranormal activity are visiting these
places because, for them, these places are discoveries and stories. Also, these types of people
find these kinds of places and activities exciting and thrilling.
On the darker side of tourists' behavior Hampson (2019) said that as attractions with dark
histories become more popular, wherein these sites are now also part of tour packages, experts
said that these might be taken advantage of, sold as trinkets, or used as backgrounds for
inappropriate photos. "It kind of invites that passive behavior, let us call it that tourist behavior
that might be out of place," Stone (2015) said.
Hampson (2019) added that tourists' disrespectful actions at sensitive locations, like
grinning Instagram users have criticized the practice of taking selfies in concentration camps. A
current or recent tragedy should not be visited in order to gawk, according to the online travel
guide Dark-Tourism.com, which also cautions against such conduct. Also, many traveling
websites criticize how ordinary tourists behave when visiting dark tourism attractions. Talking
loudly, running around, laughing, and taking selfies are seen as disrespectful and rude. How
people take photos or selfies, in particular, raises ethical concerns about tourist behavior in dark
tourism destinations (Hodalska, 2017).
The intentions set by subjective norms, attitudes, and perceived behavioral control
influence a person's behavior. Behavioral intention (BI) refers to "a person's subjective
probability that he will perform some behavior" (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975).
This is determined by the which is defined as indicates a person's attitude, which is how
much they view the behavior of interest favorably or unfavorably. It necessitates considering
how actions will influence outcomes. A particular behavior is motivated by its behavioral
intentions. The likelihood that a behavior will be carried out increases with the strength of the
intention to engage in it. Additionally, subjective norms are the assessment of whether the
majority of whether the behavior is deemed acceptable or unacceptable by the people. It has to
do with whether or not peers and close friends think the person should act in a certain way. Also,
Social norms are the accepted codes of behavior within a group of people or in a larger cultural
context. Social norms are viewed as normative or standard. The perceived ease or difficulty of
engaging in the desired behavior is what a person thinks of as the behavioral control. The ways
in which an individual interprets behavioral control vary because perceived behavioral control
varies depending on context and action (Maffei, 2012).
According to some studies (Bamberg et al., 2011; Hrubes et al., 2014), tourists' attitudes
significantly influence their behavioral intentions (Wang & Hsu, 2010). According to Best
(2010), the emotions that tourists experience while visiting sites associated with disaster and
death can shape behavioral intentions through revisiting intentions and willingness to
recommend. It is essential to generate positive word-of-mouth and revisit intentions for sites
dealing with death and torment (Muzaini, Teo, and Yeoh, 2014). According to research on
concentration camps, visitors' emotional responses are a reliable indicator of their intent to return
and their likelihood to spread good word of mouth (Nawijn & Fricke, 2013).
Supporting the mentioned studies in this research, it was discovered that the most
perceptive pictures, "image of memorial place" and "image of the educational location," were
positively correlated with the majority of on-site experience and behavioral intention
subdimensions. Tourists' perceptions of the "image of leisure place" and "image of fear
landscapes" were negatively correlated with various aspects of on-site experience and behavioral
intention (Lili et al. and Lopez et al., 2021).
With the behavioral intention being mentioned by the researchers and how these both are
entwined and linked along with the emotional state of tourists, researchers will use the theory of
planned behavior since the study is about the intentions and behavior of travelers. Swan (1981)
proposed this behavioral intention is being defined as an anticipated of individual. Behavioral
intention by the definition is a person's anticipated or planned future behavior—is a key factor
that significantly predicts observed behavior (Baloglu, 2011). Many people held the view that
intentions always came before actions (Fishbein & Ajzen, 1975; Konu & Laukkanen, 2010).
Three constructs of the behavioral intentions are the subjective norm, perceived
behavioral control and the attitude which are the foundation of Fishbein and Ajzen's Theory of
Planned Behavior (TPB). This has been used extensively in tourism research (Ajzen & Driver,
1992; Han et al., 2010; Han & Kim, 2010; Lam Hsu, 2012). According to TPB, people are more
likely to engage in behaviors that they think are attainable (Armitage & Conner, 2011). Ajzen
(1991) mentioned that subjective norm, attitude, and perceived behavioral control are the factors
in predicting the intention of individual. Tourists' perceptions and their intentions of their
capacity to engage in a particular behavior are being influenced by the perceived behavioral
control.With that, the previous research mentioned by the researchers,A hypothesis were made in
regards with the relationship between tourists' intentions and behavior:
H1: Tourists' intentions have a significant relationship with the tourists' behavior.

Role of fear and empathy

Tourism experiences revolve around emotions (Aho et. al., 2015). A prior research has
established the importance of emotions in a variety of situation and places, including shopping,
heritage sites (Prayag, Hosany, and Odeh 2013), holidays (Hosany & Prayag, 2013), adventure
tourism (Faulla, Matzler, and Mooradian 2011), theme parks (Bigné, Andreu, and Gnoth, 2015),
festivals (e.g., Lee 2014) and scenic tourist attractions (e.g., L. Wang and Lyu 2019). Sharma
and Nayak (2019) state that positive and negative experiences in tourism experiences can elicit
positive and negative states of emotion, and negative emotions could lead to a positive outcome
in the behavior of tourists.
According to Robinson et al. (2011), the urge and desire in facing the fear of the
unknown and gain death-related experiences can be motivation and intention for visiting dark
places. Also, tourists visit the sites to alleviate negative emotions such as fear and sadness and
fulfill a commemorative obligation (Cohen, 2018).These are expected to contribute some
emotions to the tourist whether it is dark, death, fear emotion and fright is expected in
contributing in the emotion of tourists (Stone, 2006).
In addition, psychology One of the fundamental emotions that helps living things survive
is fear. However, it is like other emotions and has a socially constructed dimension. Nonetheless,
the fact that The fact that fears can be socially constructed suggests that they are also controllable
and resolvable. This makes fear a fundamental element that, at the nexus of psychology,
sociology, and politics, ties dark tourism to the (post)modern world. Buda, 2015; Yankowska &
Hannam, 2014) added that when visiting dark places, tourists may feel being in danger and fear,
which is oftenly mixed with the exhilaration despite tourists' intentions (education,
entertainment, emotional connection, curiosity, and interests in heritage) in visiting dark tourism
attraction. Even though travelers have different intentions and attitudes, they still feel fear and
emotion, especially on battlefields and heritage places.
When visiting a site with a dark heritage, visitors should anticipate or be prepared for
negative emotions. Positive emotions like pride, empathy, satisfaction, and hope, as well as
mixed-valence ones like compassion and awe, are all on the possible emotional experience
spectrum (Biran et al., 2011).
A person's emotional state, knowledge of another person's circumstances, or even reading
about another person's experiences can all lead to empathy, a spontaneous and vicarious sharing
of affections conditions (Keen, 2006). Empathy has the additional dimension of "identification
with the other (person)," and given the human relational aspects of tourism, it invariably plays a
covert role in the creation of experiences in all contexts. This definition of empathy from Hollan
and Throop (2011) and Tucker (2016) is that of "sharing another person's perspective.". Tucker
(2016) defined empathy as the emotional ability to put oneself in the shoes of others.
The importance of empathy in tourism is discussed by Tucker (2016) as a visitor
sentiment that is primarily present at gloomy attractions. According to Tucker (2016), other
researchers have made an effort to shed light on tourists' feelings when they visit eerie places. An
example of this is the Tuol Sleng Genocide Prison Museum (S-21) whereas Akmak (2012)
looked at visitors' feelings. Additionally, there is empirical support for the idea that emotional
involvement is vital when the travelers are visiting a dark tourism places and being engage with
dark history because it may help tourists to create meaning (Sigala & Steriopoulos, 2021) and
advancing historical comprehension, particularly empathy in the historic events (Savenije & de
Bruijn, 2017). Visitors to dark heritage sites typically report a high level of emotional
involvement. In addition to that statement, Kunwar (2015) stated that visitors to dark tourism
sites mostly feel emotional empathy, specifically those places' tragic past stories and those
victims who suffered a lot. With that, Karki (2015) supported Kuwar with his study that stated
other tourists who give their full attention and focus to these places are curious about their
interests and lives and are highly attuned to the feelings, emotions, and atmosphere of the places
developed empathetic emotions.
A logical result of visiting dark attractions, product display and its "hot interpretation"
serve as essential functions (Uzzell,1989).This is due to the fact that "emotion is a complex
psychological phenomenon that motivates us to behave in a manner consistent with our social
beliefs about specific situations and can also influence our decision-making" (Austin, 2002, p.
448). In the studies stated by the researchers, it was mentioned that tourists' intentions have a
relationship with fear and empathy; therefore, the researcher has established and developed the
following hypotheses:
H2: Tourists' visiting intention in dark tourism sites is influenced by fear.
H3: Tourists' visiting intention in dark tourism sites is influenced by empathy.
According to Seaton and Lennon (2019), pilgrim-like emotional states are frequently
displayed by dark tourists. As a result, they may find that visiting the site is rewarding.
Additionally, dark visitors are more likely to exhibit empathic behaviors after visiting a dark
location (Stone & Sharpley, 2012). Empathy improves a person's capacity for forgiveness as well
as their capacity to relate to and understand others keeping the tragedy in mind prevents it from
occurring as a reminder of the tragedy that happened in the past. The dark site does produce
positive results (Hodgson, Wertheim, 2013).
According to Nawijn and Fricke (2015), experiences that involves emotions at dark sites
are a mix of both good and bad emotions that are closely related to the desire to visit. The visit
was marked by a strong presence of unfavorable feelings, especially fear and sadness. With that
being said, according to the authors (Universitesi, 2017), it is reasonable to conclude that fear
plays a significant role in shaping and communicating modern society. However, because fear is
a crucial component of dark tourism and has cultural, psychological, and financial dimensions,
dark tourism has a unique relationship to the sociological side of dread.
Solomon (2018) said fear is one of the most important emotions for survival. As fear is
predominated in dark tourism sites, travelers who have visited these places have the possibility to
carry this emotion with them. (Bilewicz and Wojcik, 2018). Also Additionally, Biran and Buda
(2018) contend that individuals should partake in (psychologically risky) behaviors like visiting
graveyards and atrocities, in order to strengthen their cultural worldviews and self-esteem, allay
their fears of dying, and acquire a sense of both symbolic and actual immortality. Furthermore,
fear appeals have been used to influence attitudes and behaviors on various topics, including
dark tourism (Biran & Buda, 2018). With the previous research mentioned by the researchers, it
resulted with the following hypotheses statements that were made regarding the correlation of
fear and empathy with the tourists’ behavior:
H4: Fear has a positive relationship with the behavior of tourists who have visited dark tourism
sites.
H5: Empathy has a positive relationship with the behavior of tourists who have visited dark
tourism sites.
According to Liu, Huang, Bao, and Chen (2019), if a destination is unfavorable, tourists
may express negative emotions (such as being disappointed, fearful, angry and sad). Nawijn and
Fricke (2015) said negative emotions about a destination could lead to long-term behavioral
intentions. They discovered that one of the most commonly type of negative emotions were fear
and sadness. These emotions still shape the behavioral intention of tourists in dark tourism
destinations that lead to negative impacts. In addition, the reasons why people travel is for their
relaxation and thrill. It has indicated that curiosities directly have a positive impact on the
behavioral intentions. During the visit, travelers may build empathy with the victims as they
discover their tragic past. (Yoon and Uysal, 2016). With the studies mentioned above regarding
the relationship between fear and empathy with behavioral intention, the following hypotheses
were formulated and developed:
H6: Fear does not mediatees the behavior and visiting intention of tourists.
H7: Empathy mediates the behavior and visiting intentions of tourists
CHAPTER II
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY
The study’s research design which includes the type of research, research instrument,
participants and settings, data analysis, data collection as well as the ethical considerations, will
be presented in this chapter. The method of gathering and analyzing the data will also be
discussed.
Research Design
This research is quantitative and employs a causal research design in collecting data to
determine the relation of the intentions of the tourists to visit and behavior of tourists and the role
of fear and empathy in dark tourism destinations. According to Bhandari (2020), quantitative
research entails compiling and studying numerical information. It can be applied to find trends,
predict the future, averages, extrapolate findings to larger populations and investigate the causal
relationships. Furthermore, causal research is a type of investigation that looks into whether there
is a cause-and-effect connection between two different circumstances. Cause and effect can be
influenced by a wide range of factors, so researchers developed experiments to gather statistical
proof of the connections between the circumstances. With causal research; researchers are able to
evaluate the effects of the particular existing norms and procedures. This examines a condition
and an issue to explain the patterns of interaction between variables. With this in mind, a
quantitative research and causal design will be used in this study to identify the intentions and
behavior of travelers in dark tourism locations as well as the mediating effect of fear and
empathy that tourists develop during visit to dark tourism destinations.
Research Instrument
For data collection purposes, the researchers used a survey questionnaire. In order to use
existing tools that can be helpful for measuring important study variables, the researchers used
adaptation as a research tool. This study is divided into several parts, each of which serves a
particular function wherein it uses a Rating-scale for the questionnaire. Part I are the tourists’
intentions. Part 2 is the behavior wherein it was determined by subjective norms attitude, and
perceived behavioral intention. Moreover, part 3 and part 4 are the mediator of the dependent
and independent variable whereas it measures their level of fear and empathy. The respondent's
responses fit into the following categories on the Likert scale:4-Strongly Disagree, 3-Disagree, 2-
Agree, and 4-Strongly Agree.
Participants and Settings
With the participation of the travelers who have visited the dark tourism places in places this
study was by conducted and participants provided the information needed in the
study.Participants are 18 years of age or older, male or female. According to the gamma-
exponential metod the minimum sample size is 39 and minimum of 61 from the inverse square
root method but the rrsearchers are able to conduct it with the 152 participants. Moreover, the
researchers will use a purposive sampling technique in choosing the participants. This is an
instance of non-probability sampling, according to Nikolopoulou (2022), where researchers use
their judgment to select individuals from the population to participate in surveys. In other words,
the purposive sampling technique selects units "on purpose The majority of the country's dark
tourism destinations, including Loakan Road, the Diplomat Hotel, Laperal House and Teacher's
Camp, are located in the province of Baguio, where the study will be conducted.

Data Collection
The information gathered via the face-to-face survey questionnaire was arranged, tallied,
and finalized. The researchers conducted the study for less than a week to get the respondents
needed for the study. The researchers gave the questionnaires to the respondents directly to the
chosen respondents. Furthermore, researchers used causal analysis to analyze the data, which
enabled them to quickly describe the study's variables to determine the relationship between
tourists' level of intentions and behavior in locations under the dark tourism and the fear and
empathy as a mediator which is developed during the visit. Descriptive causal design is used in
investigations that seek to present static images of circumstances and establish the relationship
between various variables (McBurney & White, 2013).
Data Analysis
 In testing the hypotheses of the study, the partial-least-square structural medeling (PLS-
SEM) was used. The Warp-PLS version 8.0 which is statistical software was used to test the
relationship between the observed and latent variables (Khine, 2013). This also permitted the
researchers to identify the model fit and test the causal models with a linear equation.
Ethical Consideration
The questionnaire comes with an informed consent form that explains the objective of the
survey, the value of respondents’ involvement, and the amount of time it takes to complete the
entire questionnaire. Participants remained completely anonymous and will never reveal the
identity of the subject of the inquiry. Research academics know who the participants are their
information remains confidential from everyone else.

Results and Discussion

The validity and reliability of the study's constructs are looked at as part of the
measurement model's evaluation. Cronbach's alpha was used in conjunction with Composite
Reliability (CR) to evaluate the dependability of the constructs According to Kock (2014) and
Kock and Lynn (2012), a construct's reliability can be evaluated using CR and CA when it meets
the 0.7 threshold. However, Trevethan (2021) stated that alpha with a value of .6 is acceptable
when the number of items is involved.
Results of the study revealed that tourists with a high level of intention to visit dark tourism
locations also showed behaviors. According to these findings, each time the respondents
experienced and visited the dark tourism sites with their intention it contributes to the subjective
norms, perceived behavioral control, and attitude, of tourists which all played a role in shaping
behavior, this is indicating that Hypothesis 1 was fully supported.
The result also supported the study of Konu and Laukkanen (2010), which said many
people believed that intentions were an immediate precursor to behavior. Also, the visiting
intention in dark tourism sites that was influenced by the fear of tourists was not fully supported
by Hypothesis 3, which contradicted the claim of Robinson et al. (2011), stating the desire to
face the fear of the unknown and gain death-related experiences could be motivation and
intention for visiting dark places. In line with this, the visiting intention of tourists was also
influenced by empathic emotions in dark tourist sites. Hypothesis 2 was fully supported. This
result in the 2nd hypothesis supported the study by Keen (2006), Observing another person's
emotional state has the potential to cause empathy, a vicarious and spontaneous sharing of
affections, reading or even hearing about the circumstances of another person.
Furthermore, fear did not highly influence the behavior of tourists when they visited a dark
tourism site which was not fully supported by Hypothesis 4. Along with this, the 4th hypothesis
contradicted the claim of Bilewicz and Wojcik (2018), mentioning that fear was predominated in
dark tourism sites, and travelers who had visited these places could carry this emotion with them.
Also, In order to boost one's cultural worldview and sense of self-worth, according to Biran and
Buda (2018), people should engage in (psychologically) risky behavior in order to acquire sense
of both literal immortality and symbolic, as well as reduce death fears. Moreover, empathy did
have a positive relationship with the behavior of tourists, in which Hypothesis 5 was highly
supported. After visiting a dark site, dark tourists were more likely to exhibit empathic
responses, according to Stone and Sharpley (2012), who provided support for this finding.
Hypotheses 6 and 7 showed that fear and empathy did not mediate the behavior and intention of
tourists. That just meant that tourists were still determining if they will visit the exact dark
tourism location and would visit another dark tourism site in the future, even though they carried
fear and empathy.
Furthermore, the data gathered shows in the result that BHV9 ( People who were important to
me would approve of my visit to a dark tourism location), BHV10 (Most people I knew would
choose a dark tourism location for vacation purposes), BHV11 (I was in control of whether or
not I visited a dark tourism location ), BHV12 (There were dark 0 tourism location(s) within
reasonable driving distance from my home and BHV13 (If I wanted, I could easily afford to visit
a dark tourism location ) have a factor loading of <0.07 that may have a negative effect on the
results of data.
Conclusion
The findings of this investigation in this field of expertise allowed us to understand the
relationship between the variables - visiting intention, behavior, fear, and empathy with the dark
tourism location in Baguio City. With results that were provided by the respondents, it showed
that tourists who visited dark tourism locations in Baguio visited with the intention or reasons. It
influenced their emotions (fear and empathy) and behavior. Whereas the intentions of tourists in
visiting dark tourism sites in Baguio City, like curiosity, education, commemoration, vacation,
and other reasons, are influenced by empathic emotions. On the contrary, fear emotions did not
contribute to the intention to visit tourists in dark tourism sites.
It was also concluded that empathy had a positive relationship with the behavior wherein it had a
good impact on them after they visited dark tourism sites in Baguio City. However, feared
emotion had no significant relationship to the behavior. Furthermore, tourists who had
experienced feared and empathic emotions during their visit had no relationship with behavioral
intentions. However, after they visited this type of location, it was still determined that they
would revisit the place and visit other dark tourism locations. In short, visiting intentions had a
significant relationship with behavior, empathy had a positive relationship with intention and
behavior, but fear did not where it just meant that not all dark tourism sites elicited a negative
emotion. Lastly, fear and empathy did not mediate the intention and behavior.
Recommendations
With the limitations that came with the study, the researchers recommend providing more
accurate and more efficient data. There must be a better time frame for the research conduct and
the data-gathering process. Since there was a time constraint, the researchers needed to reach the
minimum number of respondents that must be gathered for the study. It would be a tremendous
advantage if this were paid attention to. Also, since the researchers chose Baguio City as their
dark tourism destination for their study, they recommend exploring other dark tourism sites in
the Philippines, as tourists may elicit different intentions, behaviors, and emotions depending on
the location they visited.
Moreover, due to the results of this study, the researchers further recommend looking for other
emotions that tourists feel during their visit to the dark tourism site most travel experiences elicit
positive emotions. However, some, particularly in dark tourism activities, may elicit negative
emotions such as anger or sadness. Future researchers can also focus on tourists' intentions that
other emotional expressions like depression, pity, hatred, shock, and contemplation can
influence. Since the study is about the intentions of the tourists, the researchers also suggest
researching the constraints of the tourists when visiting to dark tourism places. Studies that look
at demotivating elements also look at cultural taboos or cultural beliefs that prevent people from
visiting places associated with human tragedy, atrocities, and death. Research on dark tourism
avoidance behaviors is limited compared to research on motivational factors. Dark tourism
research is quietly fresh. The researchers recommend further dig deeper regarding the benefits of
visiting dark tourism sites to the tourists. Lastly, we recommend using the research paper as a
reference to take advantage of promoting Dark Tourism Destinations. The result will be
beneficial in marketing dark tourism destinations to people since it has a higher impact on the
positive emotions of tourists.