Dark tourism is an increasingly popular research topic for the tourism industry, however it has been lacking in empirical research contribution. This study provides empirical research to demonstrate and analyze the relationships between four dark tourism constructs (i.e., dark experience, engaging entertainment, unique learning experience, and casual interest) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) constructs (i.e., attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intentions). The purpose of the study was to gain a better understanding of the behaviors and intentions of tourists who have either previously visited or plan to visit a dark tourism location.

Utilizing a combination of the Push-Pull Factor Theory, the Theory of Planned Behavior, and dark tourism constructs, a new theoretical framework was created to determine the motivations and intentions of tourists visiting dark tourism locations. A total of 1068 usable questionnaires were sampled using Qualtrics Panels data collection service for data analysis purposes. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to verify satisfactory levels of reliability and validity in regards to the measurement of model fit. After the model fit was adequate, structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to test the validity of the model and determine the positive and negative relationships between dark tourism constructs and the Theory of Planned Behavior.