It's a familiar experience for many people, finally deciding on the perfect destination for a holiday, then going on to the foreign office website to find that violence or terrorism has made it a no go area. And most people are disappointed when this happens. There are some, however, who would be glad to glean this information, for they actually look for holidays in warzones and the like, either for academic interest, or just looking for a new way to experience an adrenaline rush.
This kind of holidaying is on the increase, but it is not a totally new occurrence. The Sumerland Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, for example, opened in 1979 and was known as the first luxury resort to be situated in the middle of a civil war zone. An Italian company took it one step further in the 80s when they started taking customers to the conflict zone of Beirut's Green Line.
Presently, the Alternative Tourism Group offer package holidays that include tours around the West Bank and Gaza strip, allowing tourists the chance to see refugee camps and listen to the Palestinian victims. The sites of suicide bombers detonation are even the focal points of some tours.
here is a company, Hinterland Travel, which has been leading tours around Iraq's historical sites since 1972, and the recent outbreak of war has not stopped it. And now the effects of war on the country are being integrated into the tours. One tourist claims to have seen a plume of smoke and heard a loud bang as a bomb was detonated in at the Turkish Embassy.
Despite the drama of stories like this, many travellers who go to places like this vouch for its safety. If you take the right precautions, nowhere is off limits, and your trip will be as dangerous or as safe as you want it to be. Alternatively there are certain warzones that are safer than others. The divide between North and South Korea, for example, is technically a warzone, but you can cross it on tours of North Korea with complete safety.
This kind of holidaying is on the increase, but it is not a totally new occurrence. The Sumerland Hotel in Beirut, Lebanon, for example, opened in 1979 and was known as the first luxury resort to be situated in the middle of a civil war zone. An Italian company took it one step further in the 80s when they started taking customers to the conflict zone of Beirut's Green Line.
Presently, the Alternative Tourism Group offer package holidays that include tours around the West Bank and Gaza strip, allowing tourists the chance to see refugee camps and listen to the Palestinian victims. The sites of suicide bombers detonation are even the focal points of some tours.
here is a company, Hinterland Travel, which has been leading tours around Iraq's historical sites since 1972, and the recent outbreak of war has not stopped it. And now the effects of war on the country are being integrated into the tours. One tourist claims to have seen a plume of smoke and heard a loud bang as a bomb was detonated in at the Turkish Embassy.
Despite the drama of stories like this, many travellers who go to places like this vouch for its safety. If you take the right precautions, nowhere is off limits, and your trip will be as dangerous or as safe as you want it to be. Alternatively there are certain warzones that are safer than others. The divide between North and South Korea, for example, is technically a warzone, but you can cross it on tours of North Korea with complete safety.
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