Imperial War Museum

The Imperial War Museum London is one of five museums dedicated to British history throughout the United Kingdom. This museum reflects upon the 1st and 2nd World Wars, The Holocaust and most recently the war in Afghanistan along with many other interesting exhibitions. The site is part Government funded and relies upon sponsorship and donations in terms of business survival. This makes the Imperial War Museum a free attraction in London, however, donations are graciously welcomed. When referring to Sharpley & Stone's Dark Tourism Spectrum (2009) the imperial war museum would situate at the lightest end of the scale, with the site only being associated with death and disaster in comparison to being a site of death and disaster like Ground Zero.

Management Issues

Like many dark tourism sites and attractions around the world, the Imperial War Museum in London does contest some management implications. An obvious one in comparison to the 9/11 memorial is that this venue does not charge the public for entering. This can have implications in terms of the business function of the venue and additionally, could lead to crowd control becoming an issue. An option to address this issue could be to give visitor's ticketed time slots and encourage people to visit the venues website and pre-book in advance to avoid any disappointments.

An additional management implication at this dark tourism attraction is how exhibitions are to be interpreted. As we live in a multi-cultural world it should be acknowledged that the museum should respect the views of different nations as well as their own. The stories being shown to visitor's must be addressed and considered accordingly to avoid any misinterpretation from occurring. These exhibitions are not only portraying the deaths of many people but are also portraying a legacy of history, and as such must honour the dead.