Viewpoint of suicide travel: An exploratory study on YouTube comments

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.