Cemeteries are considered sacred, where we bury the people who passed away in their last resting place. However, in the other part of the world, a cemetery serves as a public green space that people can enjoy for recreational purposes. The idea of cemetery tourism is getting more and more interest lately. Not only do cemeteries perform as a place to memorialise the people before us, but they are also a space for historical significance and a city life escape.
Learning about the past
Cemeteries hold cultural and historical significance. They can tell you inspirational stories about the community in the past. You may visit the library or use the internet to seek historical information about particular things. Alternatively, you can also go to the museum and read the biographies of inspirational figures. However, cemetery tourism offers you something different. It will give you different perspectives you cannot get from any kind of learning space.
To illustrate, imagine cemeteries as open-air museums. You can enjoy the combination of arts, nature, and mankind. Read the gravestones’ inscriptions or take pictures of artistic eye-pleasing sculptures. Moreover, each cemetery has its own characteristics. They represent various values of the culture or religion of the community buried there. Thus, you can learn about cultural heritage and encounters of the people from the past and present.
Silence and contemplative space
Cemeteries are usually thought of as sacred places. Therefore, it is essential to protect them by maintaining silence and using it solely for resting purposes. As a result, cemeteries tend to be peaceful and serve as an antidote to the never-ending crowds of city life. Moreover, this imagery has constructed cemeteries as a space to seek solitude and disconnect from the world for a second, one of the things that cemetery tourism offers to people.
People often come to cemeteries to contemplate or sightsee the different angles of the city. Even more, some groups of people, such as people with disability, the elderly, and depressive and hypersensitive people, find cemeteries a safe space for them to avoid crowds. So, cemeteries are one of the best places for certain groups of people to maintain their functionality and mental well-being.
Advancing cemetery tourism
With the positive impacts that cemetery tourism can bring to the community, advancing the cemetery tourism aspect must be considered. Technology is one of the ways to improve the significance of cemetery tourism in the community. For that reason, Chronicle online platform has precisely the features to accelerate cemetery tourism among the community in a more meaningful way.
Specifically, Chronicle’s online self-guided Historic Walking Tour allows users to learn about their community’s history, especially the prominent figures in the community. In addition, through their mobile phones, they can use a Walk-to-Grave feature. It helps them locate their exact location in the cemetery using GPS. Furthermore, both features work together to create a more interactive and meaningful experience for the users to connect with their community’s history.
Every cemetery digitised with Chronicle has those features to accommodate cemetery tourism for the community. Check out how Ouyen Cemetery in Victoria, Australia, introduced those features to their community in their Open Day event.