With travel agency to 'every front in the world': dead bodies pay a premium: TV documentary reveals incredible business of 'war tourism'
They enjoy traveling to war zones while others are relaxing on the beach. They are looking for an adrenaline rush, the ultimate adventure, agencies that take care of “war tourists” for extremely expensive money. A British documentary about Arte showed extreme tourists and their enterprising caretakers.
Sometimes the thunder of cannons has already died down. Sometimes, if they are very close, they can still hear it well. They are “war tourists”, also known as “extreme tourists”. The documentary, which airs Tuesday night on Artes, shows a cross-section of people looking for the ultimate kick, an adrenaline shock that can't be found anywhere else.
Life at home becomes too boring for them, so they go to war, or at least to war-torn areas. It sounds crazy, but such a thing exists.
Andrew, a builder from Surrey, is happily married with two children. But after a few weeks of everyday life, he heads to Somalia, Iraq or Syria. He wants to go “where you hear the guns” and maybe come under fire himself.
Aleppo ruins look like 'the face of darkness'
The ruins of Aleppo then appear as the “face of darkness” and an endless tracking shot shows a lonely road in Nagorno-Karabakh so that danger can be seen lurking.
War tourists looking for the ultimate thrill are all good observers of themselves. They know what they are doing for money. Your addiction is one that likes to surround itself with a blanket of self-pity. “It still affects me,” Andrew says after the massive Syrian refugee camp. That's why he always brings small gifts and shakes hands.
With a travel agency “everywhere in the world”
When Rick, a military man hindered by his inadequacy, first heard the sounds of war, he had the idea to start a travel agency that would take people to conflict zones. This was the beginning of “War Zone Tours”, which has since accompanied and catered for war tourists around the world.
“Give me a month and I'll take you anywhere in the world, to places that are in the news,” is Rick's incredible PR message. For some reason, war tourists want to see with their own eyes what they see as lacking in the media. You could also say that they would like to play correspondents themselves.
“Burial and body repatriation costs are extra”
The detailed preparation for these tours is very similar to that of war itself. For entrepreneurs like Rick, it is important to study the situation in detail at the destinations and recruit local police and soldiers to ensure the safety of customers. Something like this can be paid. For 15 years, a tourist from Arizona has regularly spent about $12,000 on such a war weekend. “In addition, there are the costs of burying and repatriating the body,” the film's commentary says rather dryly, although the travel contracts are not disclosed.
But for some people, that's fine, the addiction ends. “What's the point of all these wars?” organizer Rick thinks one day. “It's 'War Zone Tours' then.” He recently realized “that war is a really stupid thing” and trains people only for self-defense.
One of his clients has now discovered a new passion – skydiving. Others, however, are unable to shake off their addiction and spend their free time traveling after the ultimate thrill of war.
The original article “Corpse pays a premium: TV documentary reveals incredible business of 'war tourism'” from Teleschau.
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