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Purpose The Euro-centric nature of dark tourism research is limiting the perspective and restricting the scope of contemporary theory. Hence, this paper aims to explore how dark tourism consumption differs in a society apart from the Anglo/Eurosphere. This is done by testing Stone and Sharpley’s (2008) thanatological framework in Mexico, a country whose residents are renown for having a unique perspective on death, to assess whether Mexican dark tourism consumers undergo a similar, or different, thanatological experience to that proposed in the framework. Design/methodology/approach The study adopts a qualitative approach in the form of a case study. The opinions of Mexican dark tourism consumers were gained by using the technique of semi-structured interviewing in four separate dark tourism sites within Mexico City, with coding serving as the form of analysis. Findings The findings show that due to the non-existence of an absent/present death paradox in Mexican society, the research participants experienced a thanatological process that contrasts with those from Western societies, which indicates that the thanatological framework is unsuitable in the context of Mexican dark tourism. At the same time, the study contests the common perception that Mexicans have a jovial familiarity with death, and demonstrates that in this case the thanatological process confirmed an acceptance of death, rather than any kind of intimacy. Originality/value The research is valuable in that it is a response to recent calls for research in geographical locations not previously considered in a dark tourism/thanatology context.

Acapulco, a famous destination on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, has been severely affected in recent years by an insecurity crisis, however, despite a dramatic decline in international tourism, a significant number of domestic tourists continue to visit the destination, many of them repeat visitors. The main objective of this paper is to consider whether this crisisresistant behaviour is underpinned by a high resistance to change, driven by the Mexican national traits of individuality and incredulity. A qualitative approach was employed with data being collected by means of semi-structured interviews with repeat domestic visitors in Acapulco. The investigation served to determine that the participants were driven by a high resistance to change, demonstrated by a stubborn refusal to revise their holiday plans. Furthermore, it revealed that this attitude was sustained by the individualistic and incredulous nature of those involved. The study supports the view that nationality is a key determinant of tourist risk perception and that country-specific, socially-constructed characteristics influence the decision making of tourists, especially those familiar with a destination.

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The crisis that occurred in the British tourism industry due to the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease in 2001 was adopted as a case study for an investigation with two specific objectives. The first of these was to challenge contemporary tourism crisis and disaster management models by identifying several of their weaknesses and examining the extent to which they would have limited the management of the crisis had they been utilised. The second objective was to consider whether complexity theory would have provided a more appropriate framework from which to manage the crisis. A qualitative approach was employed, with data being collected by means of semi-structured interviews with key players from the industry and business owners from affected areas, and also from documental evidence. The investigation served to demonstrate the limitations of contemporary models, the presence of complexity theory elements, and concluded that, in theory, a complexity theory approach to the management of this crisis would have improved the response. The study serves to offer insight into the viability of using complexity theory as a means of crisis preparation and response. It supports the notion that a destination which adopts a "learning destination" type of structure (thus incorporating the tenets associated with complexity theory) would be better prepared for crisis and disasters and capable of a much improved response.

Overlooking the town of San Gabriel in Mexico stands a monument which attracts aficionados of Juan Rulfo’s novel Pedro Paramo. San Gabriel inspired the creation of the fictional Comala, a deserted town haunted by past residents. The main objective of the paper was to explore, from the conceptual perspective of lieux de imagination (Reijnders, 2011) whether some aficionados imagine that San Gabriel is Comala. Furthermore, considering the dark characteristics of Comala, the possibility that specific visitors undergo thanatopsis was also considered. A qualitative approach to the research was deemed the appropriate methodology to answer the research questions and accomplish the overall aim, hence twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted over the course of two days at the monument. The findings demonstrated that all of the participants were attracted to San Gabriel (and the monument) because it was the childhood home of Rulfo and the inspiration for Comala, while the vast majority imagined that San Gabriel transformed into Comala. Meanwhile, a smaller but significant proportion of visitors underwent a thanatological experience. It was suggested that this experience was an example of Debordian dark tourism, hence signifying that the monument is a place in which literary tourism and dark tourism occasionally converge.