Purpose: Current models underpinning dark tourism are insufficient to explain the paradoxical aspects of visitor experiences. This research note called for a re-conception of dark tourism as a process of negotiation of moral – experiential dissonance. Methods : This research was produced by integrating a conceptual and interdisciplinary approach, drawing on tourism as well as consumer and psychological theories. Literature was critically examined to discern underlying theoretical assumptions and their shortcomings in understanding contemporary dark tourism.

Findings: The study found that existing theories based on enduring motivations, dissonance resolution, and goal-driven experiences did not explain the paradox of pleasure and guilt in dark tourism. This research note suggested that dissonance in those circumstances was not reduced, but rather was maintained as an inherent aspect of the experience. It also underscored the impact of commodification and digital mediation in deepening this paradox and opening up to socially constructed and ongoing meaning-making.

Originality: This research note intended to challenge the theories for reframing dark tourism as a morally complex and processual consumption activity, building on behavioral and experiential theories.

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