If there is but one phenomenon that is universally known, it is corruption.
Czech Republic start up, CorruptTour, is cashing in on rampant wrongdoing. The company offers sightseeing trips of historically corrupt locations-among them: Executives' abodes, hospitals and government buildings.
Thirty-seven-year old translator Petr Sourek was inspired to create the service last year, when he read a story about politicians involved in alleged shady dealings.
He realized that every citizen of nearly every country was familiar with the act of corruption; perhaps he could take that widespread knowledge and make something of it.
"Corruption is everywhere," he said in a Wall Street Journal article. "So I thought, let's use it as the raw material for a business. It has really captured the Zeitgeist."
According to its website, CorruptTour is the first corruption specialist tour company in the world.
"Corruption is a worldwide phenomenon, but most people do not know what it looks like," the company said. "We look at the brighter side of sleaze, and take our customers behind the scenes. Corruption is mankind's cultural heritage after all!"
CorruptTour currently provides tours in Prague, Usti nad Labem and Calsbad, but is looking to expand a customer base in the United States and Western Europe.
The lighthearted approach to wrongdoing is seen in the various tours they offer: travelers can choose from "The Prague Crony Safari: a safari of the habitats of cronies in the wild," "The Prague Best of the Worst," or "Hospital on the Edge of the Law"-a tour of three Prague hospitals "notorious for graft and sleaze."
CorruptTour's cult popularity has widened since its conception in early 2012. Sourek contends that what sets this tourist attraction apart is its universal application. Many cities can create their own platter of questionable sites to show to tourists-from lower Manhattan, New York City, to Pyongyang, North Korea a multitude of countries can join in on the biting, underhanded humor the tour offers.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
