REMEMBRANCE TOURISM

What is remembrance tourism? 

Insérer photo Mémorial de Caen

Also called Heritage tourism, “Remembrance tourism focuses on emblematic historic sites, particularly those of major conflicts.” (Deperne, 2006).  Remembrance tourism is a testimony of a people’s history.  It aims at recalling those moments we would rather forget, but that we must not, in order to retain lessons from the past.

“Remembrance tourism is first and foremost a means to save and establish an identity, a cultural identity; it is unquestionably a vector of citizenship.” (Deperne, 2006)

Here is an example of remembrance tourism site : the Caen Memorial Peace Museum in Caen.

The Caen Memorial is a museum which focuses on the history of the 20th Century.  This Peace Museum proposes an historic journey and reflection about the future through three spaces:  the Second World War, the Cold War and Peace.  The Caen Memorial also aims to remind us of the fragility of the peace and of the requirements for peace and human rights. Beyond its role concerning memory, in some cases, remembrance tourism is also a leverage for local development.

http://normandy.memorial-caen.com/

Although we often associate tourism to hedonism, such sites allow us to truly discover a people’s culture, its history, its suffering, its memories.  So that they are not forgotten. So we can retain lessons from the past.  It is nevertheless important to keep a critical judgement on the facts. History is seen through the eyes of those who tell it.  One people’s heroic acts are often accompanied by the suffering of others.

Reference : Ines Lopes, Equimondo