As the “dark tourism” market continues to grow, developers and authorities in Guyana are in talks about an attraction based on one of the 20th century’s most horrifying crimes. Some readers may find this report upsetting.
The Jonestown Massacre occurred in 1978, after Reverend Jim Jones persuaded hundreds of his San Francisco Bay Area congregation to join him in Guyana, in pursuit of a racism-free idyll. Once they arrived in South America though, their passports were taken and they were forced to clear jungle and build the “Peoples Temple” commune. Eventually, Jones injected his followers with poison and coerced them into drinking it. More than 900 people died, including over 300 children. In some cases, entire families met their end in the cult.
Remote jungle destination
Now, nearly fifty years later, with the “dark tourism” market worth $31.89 billion in 2023 and growing by 2.9% a year according to industry analysts, travel firm Wanderlust Adventure has started talks with the Guyanese authorities about turning the site of the massacre into a tourist destination. Tourism Minister Oneidge Walrond told the Associated Press the project “certainly has my support. It is possible. After all we have seen what Rwanda has done with that awful tragedy as an example.”
But while members of the Guyanese government may be in favour, there are multiple other question marks over the proposition. On a practical level, there’s the remote location of the site, which is only reachable by boat, plane or helicopter, overgrown and surrounded by vegetation, and nearly 10 kilometres from the small village of Port Kaituma. Turning the site into a viable tourist destination will require significant investment which there is no guarantee of recovering.
Is there any cultural or moral value in the project?
Even if visitors could be convinced the trek is worth it logistically, they would also need to be convinced of the moral or cultural case for making a visit. Neville Bissember, a legal specialist at the University of Guyana, has slammed the concept as “ghoulish and bizarre” in a recent letter that asks: “What part of Guyana’s nature and culture is represented in a place where death by mass suicide and other atrocities and human rights violations were perpetuated against a submissive group of American citizens, which had nothing to do with Guyana nor Guyanese?”
But Rose Sewcharran, director of Wanderlust Adventures, told the AP: “We think it is about time. This happens all over the world. We have multiple examples of dark, morbid tourism around the world, including Auschwitz and the Holocaust museum.”
