Immersive Encounters With Tragedy: The Role of Virtual Reality in Enhancing Dark Tourism Experiences, Education and Transformative Engagement

Abstract Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a potentially powerful tool in dark tourism, providing immersive and interactive experiences that enhance the understanding and commemoration of tragic historical events. Despite the increasing use of VR in tourism, there is a significant research gap in understanding how these immersive experiences can potentially facilitate transformative tourist experiences (TTE) and ensure ethical representation of tragedies. This multiple qualitative case study examines the application and impact of VR in dark tourism through cases of five notable sites: the Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp Memorial, the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, the 9/11 Memorial Museum, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, and the Anne Frank House. Each case highlights the use of VR to create realistic and emotionally compelling simulations that allow virtual visitors to explore these sites in unprecedented detail. The analysis reveals that VR enhances visitor engagement, deepens emotional impact and serves as an effective educational tool, making historical events more accessible to a global audience. Furthermore, VR facilitates potential TTE by fostering personal reflection and a deeper understanding of the human condition. Additionally, VR contributes to the preservation of these sites by reducing physical foot traffic and wear on fragile locations. The chapter underscores the potential of VR to transform dark tourism, offering new ways to engage with history and promote empathy and understanding of past tragedies. Future research should focus on the long-term educational benefits of VR in dark tourism and its potential to foster a deeper societal awareness of historical atrocities.