ABSTRACT
Introduction Although Okinawa and Normandy were both historically significant sites in World War II there are elements in common yet important differences in how each deals with tourism, war heritage, remembering and forgetting. Economically, tourism is a major driver in both local economies, attracting a large international tourist audience, with the geographic feature of beaches a common draw albeit for different reasons. Historically, both destinations were major battles in World War II, with Normandy’s beaches and surrounding sites memorialized for the over two million tourists to the region involved in commemorating, learning about and celebrating the victory. For Okinawa, with its local Okinawan population, large numbers of Japanese and East Asian tourists and the ubiquitous American military presence, remembering the war is quite different.
