In these dates of excessive heat, we are all thinking about traveling. Although the masses continue to take break getaway trips, be it a mix of discovering a location and relaxing the mind, there is also a variable of the population that opts for “alternative tourism”.

For example, many people who visit Fraguas, in Cantabria, come to take a look at El Palacio de los Hornillos, a plot of land of 60 hectares that was built at the end of the 18th century. The nominated film “The Others” by Alejandro Amenábar and starring Nicole Kidman was shot there. But did you know that this is called “geek tourism”?

We extend the information in this entry to our blog.

Atomic tourism

This type of tourism is especially booming since the Fukushima disaster in March 2011.

Public concern about nuclear power is being shown and this has led to an increase in visits to old silos, nuclear power plants and atomic bomb sites.

In the US there are many science museums where you can learn about the subject, although perhaps the most popular place is the Nevada Test Site.

Tourism geek

In technological tourism, the motivation is to visit a destination closely linked to digital. In the southern part of the San Francisco Bay, we find probably the most famous technological destination in the world: Silicon Valley

The capital of Japan is another must-see for techie trips. For many, it is also the capital of the video game world. Companies like Nintendo have their headquarters there. Tokyo is also known for the development of robotics. One of the great tourist attractions is the cabaret show at the Robot Restaurant in Kabukicho.

We don’t have to leave our country to make trips techies. Barcelona is a true smart city that is committed to technological development. It has computers all over the city to capture noise levels, analyze city traffic or even quantify the number of selfies taken.

Integrate technology into their cultural development. Its circuit of electronic and digital art is very popular. In addition, it is the venue for the Mobile World Congress, which has been fundamental in making it the fifth European technology hub.

Tolkian Tourism

In the Anglo-Saxon Wikipedia they speak of Tolkien Tourism to designate the tourism received by places related to the films “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit”. As we know, New Zealand is the main setting for these films and even the fictional village of Hobbiton can be visited there. Although what is really spectacular, of course, must be the fantastic valleys that we saw recreated on the big screen.

I leave you an entry from a blog by some guys on this topic, in case you are thinking of traveling to the land of the Elves and the Hobbits.

Disaster tourism

Catastrophe tourism or disaster tourism is the act of visiting places that have been subject to environmental catastrophes of human or natural origin. It is considered a subsector of black tourism. The main motivation would be curiosity. In other words, it is not a volunteer tourism.

Floods like the one in New Orleans after Katrina, tsunamis like the ones that hit part of Southeast Asia and even the nuclear accidents mentioned above have attracted this type of tourism.

Abandonment tourism

One of the most widespread types of industrial tourism is the visit to disused sites. They can be buildings of unfinished constructions, once in operation, industrial and military installations, abandoned houses, neighborhoods and even cities (the so-called ghost towns).

Explorers tend not to publicize the location of detected objects or reveal their location, believing that doing so may attract the authorities or cause a large influx of tourists or others who want to trash the place. The philosophy of the researchers is to leave the place intact, just as they left it from the first day after its abandonment, in order to preserve its aesthetics and naturalness.

An example would be the abandoned tunnels of the Paris metro that are visited daily by tourists from all over Europe.

Ufological tourism

The motivation of the public for this type of tourism is the intrigue, the anxiety and the great interest that the unknown arouses. Many people move away from their homes every year in search of adventure and sightings of UFOs and other strange phenomena.

If you are interested in having alien-themed experiences and are planning your “off-planet” vacation, there are some places that have been trending in UFO tourism for years. Like, for example, the famous Area 51 in Las Vegas or the UFO Museum located in Roswell.

We make a special mention of Space Tourism, although within the reach of a few, you can read more in this blog post.