War tourism is travelling to battle fields and frontiers where the traces of combat between the rival troops are still fresh as if the smell of cordite has just fired off a gun. War sites lure a section of tourists who are turned on by the adventure and adrenaline pumped thrill drawn from a war tourism site. Despite the political turmoil, the clash of interests of nations with conflicting ideology and eventually the spray of ammunitions and explosions and the consequent loss of life and property and the grief associated a place of battle has a tremendous appeal on its own right. It is here where the fates of the nations had been decided. The victor emerges with its head held high and the loser gets lost in gloom and subjugates to the self declared master!

Battle fields are historically significant, politically arousing and strategically offering a field of study in the realm of military science and engineering. The charred greenery and sight of the armory debris, shrapnel, and exploded fragments of mines, grenades and warheads supply enough fodder to the adventure freaks having an enormous appetite for war torn zones. Battles and wars of different magnitude and location involving different countries have been fought across the world. The results are known and their impact has left a trail of bloodshed and gun smoke that the tourist can hardly able to resist the temptation to make a visit.

The battlefields of American Civil War, the Crimean War, the Waterloo, the Korean War, the desert warfare in Northern Sahara, Dresden the city in Germany suffering most air assaults, the Bangladesh -Pakistan war and the Gulf war in the recent times have been major grounds inspiring war tourism among the tourists.

Tourists with a good grip on war strategies quite often look for details. The geographical feature and the terrain, the landmarks, the forests, the deserts, the gorges and the hills that might have been deciding factors for a nation to win and it’s rival to lose. Besides guns and ammunitions, the tactics applied plays an important role in delivering the outcome. The position of the army along the terrain matters a lot. The winner had successfully employed the topography to his advantage in which the vanquished have failed. These technical details and a lot more entice the war tourism enthusiasts to plan a visit to the battle ravaged grounds, and the kick he gets from the scene is powerful often inspiring repeat visits.

War tourism is a bit out of the way departure from other conventional forms of tourism. The usual niche tourism sector lays emphasis on the scenic beauties, cuisine and cultural marvel. Whereas, here the focus is on death and destruction in the backdrop of a conflicting political scenario and exposure to a site dotted with bomb craters, burnt woodland and apparently harmless grounds beneath where lethal mines and other ammunitions might be lying dormant to erupt someday. The danger of stepping over a mine is always there, and the tourist is very well aware of the devastating results.

However, his drive for war tourism is strong enough for these threats to deter his enterprise.

In many war torn lands, development is in progress. Bomb pits have been turned into fish ponds. In many places, the devastated buildings and structures razed to the ground altogether have been preserved intact with modern civilization grown around. This certainly is an attraction in contrast with ghostly towns beaten by enemy assaults stand amid a strikingly contrasting and pulsating modernity!

Time and again the consequences of strife and bloodbath no matter how ugly and embarrassing it have been the tourists pour in waves making war tourism a powerful niche cutting a secured slot in tourism industry.