From Travel Daily

Mark Elliott believes people will flock to new attraction that simulates sinking ship

What is it about the Titanic that inspires such incredible morbid fascination in people?

From movies to museums, the public’s appetite for all things Titanic has always been insatiable. But recently it seems that Titanic-mania is being taken a step further. Rather than simply remember the 1,517 poor souls who lost their lives in the tragedy, it seems we now want to join them.

It seems Titanic memorials, like the one in Southampton, are not enough any more.

Last year, an Australian businessman decided to build ‘Titanic II’ – an exact replica of the original ship, which will retrace the Titanic’s inaugural Southampton-New York voyage – hopefully with more success. Surely there was never a greater example of tempting fate since a resident of Pompeii looked up and said Mount Vesuvius “looked a bit quiet”.

And now a Chinese company is planning to let people experience the moment the Titanic actually sank. The catchily-named ‘Romandisea Seven Star International Cultural Tourism Resort’ in Sichuan province will feature a full-size replica of the Titanic, which will shake and shudder, allowing guests to recreate the harrowing moments aboard the ship as it plunged into the icy depths.

To top off the experience, visitors will be dropped into freezing cold water in the pitch black, surrounded by corpses and forced to tread water for several hours until staff pull them out.

Okay, I made up the last bit. But according to man behind the project, fear will play a major element in the experience…

“We will let people experience water coming in by using sound and light effects… They will think: ‘The water will drown me. I must escape with my life,’” said Su Shaojun, CEO of the Seven Star Energy Investment Group.

Well that sounds fun, doesn’t it? It will be the first organised drowning simulation since the CIA water-boarding scandal, only this time people will pay for the privilege.

But there’s no doubt, guests will flock to the new Titanic theme park. It’s human nature, like slowing down to look at an accident. Let’s just hope the developers try to include some tasteful elements in the park, like a memorial to those who died. They can put it right next to the novelty life-jacket shop and ice pop stall.

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http://www.traveldailymedia.com/blogs/202596/tasteless-titanic-theme-park-will-go-down-well/