Tourism is a funny thing. Sometimes hot spots are hot, prompting opportunistic developers to build. And sometimes they're not. (The outbreak of a civil war is a great way to shut down a tourist destination.) Photographer Dietmar Eckell has spent the past several years visiting the hotels and resorts that got left behind.
The resultant series is appropriately titled "No Vacancy." In it, Eckell takes us around the world to abandoned hotels of all shapes and sizes, some built in the early 20th century and some that look like they shut down yesterday. The frequency of Eastern European destinations that were lost to the Cold War makes one wonder about capitalism's promise. But regardless of the underlying meaning, it's inevitably beautiful to see nature taking back land that was once hers.
Rien Ne Vas Plus, No Vacancy #1, Cambodia, 2010 - "Bokor Mountain French Hotel/Casino from 1912"
Olympic Dreams, No Vacancy #5, Bosnia Herzegovina, 2011 - "Built for the Winter Olympics 1984, it was later used as a 'bunker' in the Balkan War."
No Vacancy #6, Croatia, 2011
No Vacancy #7, Croatia, 2011
No Vacancy #11, Kosovo, 2011
On the Road to Ithaca, No Vacancy #14, Greece, 2011
No Vacancy #11, Moldova, 2012
No Vacancy #22, Philippines, 2014
No Vacancy #25, Phillipines, 2014
No Vacancy #29, Saipan, 2014
No Vacancy #30, Japan, 2014 - "The 'Hotel Royal' is an infamous love hotel that shut down after a few years of operation. The location was too far off."
Take a look at some of Eckell's photos on his website and Facebook page—or head over to io9 to see more of his work in a series of photos documenting plane crashes where everyone survived.
All images courtesy of Dietmar Eckell