Viewpoint of suicide travel: An exploratory study on YouTube comments

Yu, C.-E., Wen, J. and Yang, S. (2020) Viewpoint of suicide travel: An exploratory study on YouTube comments. Tourism Management Perspectives, 34, 100669. (doi: 10.1016/j.tmp.2020.100669)

Abstract

Tourism is often associated with recreation, leisure, or business; suicide travel—visiting a destination for the explicit purpose of ending one's life under a physician's guidance—starkly opposes traditional tourism definitions. Although physician-assisted suicide has been a focus of ethical debate, perceptions of suicide travel have not yet been addressed in the literature. This study presents a thematic content analysis of online comments to uncover people's reactions to physician-assisted suicide in a tourism context. Findings suggest that human rights, religion, legal issues, and fear of the dying process shape people's stances. Suicide travel can also include preliminary (i.e., informational) journeys. This study enhances knowledge about suicide travel, provides insight for tourism operators, and identifies relevant benefits.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Yang, Shaohua
• Authors: Yu, C.-E., Wen, J., and Yang, S.
• College/School: College of Social Sciences > Adam Smith Business School
• Journal Name: Tourism Management Perspectives
• Publisher: Elsevier
• ISSN: 2211-9736
• ISSN (Online): 2211-9744
• Published Online: 08 April 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd
• First Published: First published in Tourism Management Perspectives 34:100669
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy