Proximity and animal welfare in the context of tourist interactions with habituated dolphins

The long-term sustainability of wildlife tourism depends on integrating visitor demands with resource management, requiring an understanding of tourist motivation. Managing the conflict between access to the animals and welfare, however, may diminish the experience for tourists. This paper identifies trade-offs tourists are willing to make between access and animal welfare, associated with feeding habituated bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) in Monkey Mia, Western Australia. Using a choice modelling technique, we were able to determine monetary values of visitor experiences. Compared to the current guaranteed interaction with dolphins (and a daily resort entrance fee), respondents were willing to pay significantly higher hypothetical entrance fees to avoid a decrease in proximity to, or probability of, the dolphin interaction. However, negative impacts on dolphin welfare had a negative impact on visitor utility. Over 80% of visitors (n = 244) accepted management regulations resulting in decreased time with and proximity to dolphins, if those addressed welfare concerns and were communicated clearly. Thus, while visitors placed the greatest value on the proximity and predictability, they were willing to trade off these aspects if they improved dolphin welfare. We provide management suggestions based on these results.     

Managing the impacts of dolphin-based tourism through the definition of critical habitats: the case of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops spp.) in Doubtful Sound, New Zealand

Marine ecotourism in New Zealand presents a challenging tourism-environment management context. This is demonstrated in the case of Doubtful Sound (New Zealand) where the recent proliferation of tour operators has brought pressures to bear upon a population of bottlenose dolphins resident in the sound. Strict methodologies are necessary to objectively interpret responses to tourism-induced anthropogenic impacts upon cetaceans. Previous research in this field has established that boat interactions with dolphins in Doubtful Sound affect the behavioural budget of the dolphin population, and that dolphins are more sensitive to interactions with boats when they are resting and to a lesser extent when they are socialising. This article reports on a programme of research that employed observational data to explore the applicability of tourism management techniques grounded in spatial ecology. The data provided scientific evidence that determining critical habitat through spatio-ecological analysis is a powerful tool to protect marine mammals in New Zealand, and elsewhere, from biologically significant tourism-induced impacts. The delineation of multi-levelled marine sanctuaries may, therefore, be an effective approach to managing the impacts of tourism upon marine mammals.     

Boat-based tourism and bottlenose dolphins in Doubtful Sound,New Zealand: The role of management in decreasing dolphin-boat interactions

Indirect non-lethal effects of wildlife tourism have the potential to compromise the long-term health of animal populations. While appropriate management of impacts is clearly necessary, such management is rarely reported to be effective. Doubtful Sound (New Zealand) has boat-based scenic cruises running year-round. This fjord is also home to an endangered population of bottlenose dolphins, a natural asset for the local tourism industry. A voluntary code of management (COM) was implemented in 2008 to alleviate vessel impacts, establishing guidelines to leave dolphin encounters to chance and restricting vessel traffic in areas of critical habitat. The frequency and duration of interactions decreased substantially since the implementation of the COM. This evidence shows that a science-based voluntary agreement has the potential to mitigate tourism impacts. Nevertheless, due to the small size of the population and its history of low calf survival, a precautionary approach is necessary to further reduce current anthropogenic impacts.     

Community-based Tourism Enterprises Development in Kenya: An Exploration of Their Potential as Avenues of Poverty Reduction

The United Nations World Tourism Organization endorses tourism for economic development and poverty reduction in developing countries, emphasising the role of micro-, small- and medium-sized tourism enterprises. In Kenya, community-based enterprises (CBEs) are preferred. This paper evaluates CBE potential and challenges for poverty reduction in Kenya. Reviewing literature on Kenyan tourism development, it uses case studies of six Kenyan CBEs spread across Kenya's tourism-focused community-based initiatives selected using opportunistic and snowball sampling. The case studies used individual in-depth semi-structured interviews with community leaders, CBE managers, tourism academics, support organisations and government officials, and focus groups with community members. The paper develops a detailed understanding of the CBEs, identifying the catalyst for their establishment and the role and degree of external intervention. It explores critical success factors, the extent to which CBEs alleviate poverty, and factors making communities welcome CBEs (or not). The results emphasise the conservation orientation of CBEs, with support agencies preferring partnership approaches involving white investment which inadequately addresses community priorities. Through foreign resource control and heavy reliance on donor funding, CBEs promote neocolonialism and reinforce dependency. An urgent review of the support framework for community tourism development in Kenya integrating the principles of sustainable development is advocated.     

Influential factors in agrarian households' engagement in rural tourism development

To understand the most significant factors that influence agricultural households' decision whether or not to work in rural tourism in China, this study applies Elinor Ostrom's Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) extension model. It also constructs a model of influence consisting of five key variables: land consolidation, market characteristics, institutional arrangements, farming household's understanding of tourism, and household information. Based on a binary logistic regression model, the results indicate that market characteristics and cognition have direct positive influences, and the source of household income has a negative influence, on farmers' willingness to be involved in providing tourism services. Results also indicate that there is no difference between farmers who work in tourism and those who do not in terms of risk assessment, but there are significant differences among other factors. Finally, some implications are provided to optimize rural tourism development.     

The human dimensions of wildlife tourism in a developing country: watching spinner dolphins at Lovina,Bali, Indonesia

The number of cetacean watching tourism operations in developing countries has doubled in the past decade. Practices are typically unregulated and not informed by research, especially research into the human dimensions of the tourist experience. Dolphin watching tourism at Lovina, Bali, started in the late 1980s when local fishers formed self-regulating cooperatives. Up to 180 dedicated operators use small fishing vessels to carry passengers to watch dolphins close to shore. Most tourists come from western countries, although the industry also attracts Asian visitors. Most visitors are tertiary-educated. Tourist satisfaction ranges from low to medium. While there was no significant difference between the average satisfaction of western and Asian tourists, the associated variables were different. The satisfaction of western tourists was associated with encounter management, preferred number of boats and the number of dolphins seen. Encounter management was the only variable associated with the satisfaction of Asian tourists. Satisfaction was positively associated with willingness to recommend the tour: western respondents who felt neutral to very comfortable with their dolphin encounters were more likely to promote the tour. Better understanding of the tourist experience is crucial in designing sustainable marine wildlife tourism in developing countries; such research appears to be rare.     

Close encounters of the dolphin kind: Contrasting tourist support for feeding based interactions with concern for dolphin welfare

The tourism demand for close interactions with wildlife has increased in the last few decades. At the same time, public concern for animal welfare has also increased. Tourists are drawn to the thrill of close encounters with charismatic wildlife in their natural setting which depend on the reliability of wildlife being in a certain place at a given time. Food provisioning is a form of operant conditioning that uses food rewards to attract wildlife, promoting spatially and temporally reliable wildlife encounters that satisfy the desire for close encounters with wildlife. However, a range of effects counter to wildlife welfare and conservation may result from both the provisioning and close encounters. Our study examines visitors' attitude and support towards regulated provisioning and identifies a gap between visitors' desire for close-up encounters, their concern for dolphin welfare and the documented negative impacts of close encounters and food-provisioning.     

Community-based tourism ventures,benefits and challenges: Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust,Central District,Botswana

The impact of Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM) is seen by many as a ‘win-win’ situation with reference to natural resources conservation and the improvement of local communities' livelihoods. However, community engagements in CBNRM and tourism have elicited many views as far as natural resources utilization is concerned. Some affirm the importance of CBNRM; others question it, while others call for its improvement. The premise of this study is to investigate the benefits and challenges of community-based tourism in one community of Botswana. Results show that although some benefits have been identified, there remain many challenges for the Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust (KRST). It is evident that for community-based tourism to bring more benefits for locals, more interaction is needed between them and the Trust management. Increased local involvement and participation will help to ensure that people are empowered and the conservation of natural resources takes place. This paper asserts that community-based ventures, if properly run and managed, can promote the conservation of natural resources and increase local benefits through participation in tourism activities.     

Can Sanctions and Rewards Explain Conformance Behaviour of Tour Operators with Ecotourism Guidelines?

Ecotourism's appeal as a conservation and development tool rests in its potential to provide local economic benefits while maintaining ecological resource integrity through low-impact, non-consumptive resource use. Some, however, question its contribution to conservation and community development, citing negative impacts, such as solid waste generation, habitat destruction, and sociocultural ills. This paper, based on a comparative study in Costa Rica, explores some of these issues. Study findings were mixed regarding ecotourism's effectiveness as a conservation and community development tool. Survey respondents saw legal restrictions as more influential than tourism in prompting declines in deforestation and hunting rates. Likewise, respondents did not feel tourism operators were significant players in raising environmental awareness. The research also revealed that direct employment in ecotourism was associated with pro-conservation practices, but indirect benefits showed stronger associations in generating pro-conservation perspectives. Little evidence was found to suggest that people are investing tourism-generated income in environmentally threatening practices. Research findings also indicated that scale influences tourism's benefits and negative impacts and that, where ecotourism dominates local economies, towns may become economically vulnerable. The paper concludes by recognising that ecotourism would be most effective as a component of a broader conservation strategy and offers suggestions to improve ecotourism's potential.     

Tourism in Maasai communities: a chance to improve livelihoods?

This paper examines community-based tourism among Maasai communities in Tanzania in the context of national policies that have increasingly devolved control over natural resources to local communities. It focuses on economic revenues generated from tourism growth, their distribution to village communities and the constraints and conflicts resulting from attempts to control or access resources. Specific cases illustrate the political and economic complexity of devolved resource management and increased income generation at the community level. Ecotourism and community-based tourism are frequently claimed to be possible remedies for wildlife and natural resources conservation, but research indicates that implementation and revenue-sharing are far from straightforward. The paper uses case studies from communities in northern Tanzania, in Ngorongoro District (Loliondo and Lake Natron), Simanjiro District and Longido District (West Kilimanjaro) to explore issues between pastoralism, cultivation, hunting tourism, photographic tourism, conservation and governance systems. It discusses the implementation of the 1998 National Forestry and Wildlife Policies, the creation of Wildlife Management Areas and the 1999 Land Act and Village Land Act. Data and experiences were gathered over a three-year period working with the Sand County Foundation – Tanzania from 2006 to 2008. The paper contributes to the assessment and discussion of pro-poor tourism and poverty alleviation concepts.     

A rapid assessment of wildlife tourism risk posed to cetaceans in Asia

Dolphin-watching tourism is growing globally. In developing countries, the typically low environmental awareness of operators and poorly enforced or non-existent regulations exacerbate risks to wildlife. Ecological indicators like behavioural responses are useful to assess wildlife tourism, but obtaining such data is slow and expensive. We modified the Driver–Pressure–State–Impact–Response (DPSIR) framework to rapidly assess the risk of dolphin-watching tourism harming, displacing or causing local extinction to dolphin populations, using human dimension data to complement limited ecological data. We assessed industries at seven dolphin-watching sites in six countries in Asia: Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. All sites have reached or almost reached financial saturation except Cambodia and Malaysia. We find high risk to dolphins at the sites in India and Indonesia and intermediate risk at the site in Cambodia. Pending more ecological data, the risk at Thailand, the Philippines, and Malaysian sites might be low. Our analysis also indicates site-specific conservation recommendations for Driver, Pressure and Response. We suggest that the DPSIR framework is useful to assess the risk of a wildlife watching industry, even when the impact is uncertain due to insufficient ecological data.     

Reducing risky interactions between tourists and free-ranging dolphins (Tursiops sp.) in an artificial feeding program at Monkey Mia, Western Australia

We studied interactions between tourists and free-ranging bottlenose dolphins in an artificial feeding program at Monkey Mia, Australia. We used logistic regression to identify factors that contributed to the incidence of “risky” (potentially injurious) interactions between tourists and dolphins. Rates of dolphin-to-tourist risky interactions were heightened with longer waiting times before dolphins were fed. We documented differences among provisioned dolphins in their proclivity to engage in risky interactions; however, it was more likely for risky interactions to be initiated by tourists. Our findings suggest several readily implemented management strategies to reduce incidence of risky interactions. Long-term monitoring of tourism based on artificial feeding is essential to identify and rectify detrimental effects of provisioning on dolphins, to ensure the safety and welfare of dolphins and tourists, and to promote sustainability of this potentially harmful tourist activity.     

Community agency and sustainable tourism development: the case of La Fortuna,Costa Rica

Previous sustainable tourism research has called for the promotion of community-based tourism as a means of achieving sustainable development goals. Such community-based development has been noted as essential for sustainable practices because of its capacity to benefit local populations while reducing tourism's negative consequences. Nonetheless, some researchers have warned that community-based tourism, by itself, does not necessarily lead to sustainable practices. This study examines local social interactional elements necessary for the achievement of sustainable tourism practices. Such practices are attainable when certain attitudinal, organizational and/or behavioral conditions are present within a community. Using a case study methodology, this article examines the interactional elements by which residents of La Fortuna, Costa Rica, engaged in sustainable tourism practices. The study was based on the theoretical notion of the community field. It used key informant interviews and participant observation. The study shows how economic, social and environmentally sustainable practices were made possible through community agency, the construction of local relationships that increase the adaptive capacity of people within a common locality. Key factors found to enable community agency are strong intra- and extra-community interactions, open communication, participation, distributive justice and tolerance.     

The Development of Community-based Tourism: Re-thinking the Relationship Between Tour Operators and Development Agents as Intermediaries in Rural and Isolated Area Communities

The purpose of this paper is to invoke a Foucauldian framework in order to re-think the development of community-based tourism by focusing on the relationship between intermediaries and rural and isolated area communities in Papua New Guinea. Foucault's concepts of power/knowledge and governmentality provide a 'way of thinking' about this relationship that challenges the dominant discourse of the tourism industry. To further elaborate these alternative concepts, the researchers lead a discussion through a number of areas that impact on the development of community-based tourism. These include the introduction of western models of management and their ability to undermine traditional forms of knowledge, the conceptualisation of the tourist destination as interactive space, and a critique of the tourism industry through poststructuralist feminist theory. From these perspectives community-based tourism or ecotourism suggests a symbolic or mutual relationship where the tourist is not given central priority but becomes an equal part of the system.     

Resident perceptions of social–ecological resilience and the sustainability of community-based tourism development in the Commonwealth of Dominica

Despite major investments in community-based tourism to diversify economies, reduce poverty and improve life quality in the Caribbean, little is known about what conditions lead to resilience and sustainability. Sustainability from a resilience theory perspective is the likelihood an existing system of resource use will persist indefinitely without a decline in social and natural resource bases. Undertaking activities to enhance resilience and sustainability improves a system's ability to persevere, adapt and learn to meet challenges from unanticipated economic, political or natural events. This study investigated six communities in the Commonwealth of Dominica, all part of a seven-year community tourism program, and examined residents' perceptions of the social, institutional, economic and ecological resilience of their community, and therefore the resilience and sustainability of community tourism development. It used a new scale using eight steps suggested by Devellis' scale development methodology. Data indicated moderate to low resilience in all four domains across the communities. This suggests that communities should invest in strengthening social bonds, developing capacity in local institutions, in diversifying the tourism product and controlling infrastructure development. Indicators measuring trust, networks, local control, flexible governance, leakage prevention and controlled infrastructure development emerged as important in assessing social–ecological resilience and sustainability.     

Environmental implications of tourism development

For tourism, the environment represents not a constraint, but a resource and an opportunity. Tourism and the environment are not merely interrelated but are interdependent. The viability of tourism, rather than conflicting with environmental conservation, actually demands it, otherwise visitor satisfaction will be reduced as the inherent appeal of the tourism setting is eroded. Whereas tourism can lead to environmental degradation and therefore be self-destructive, it can also contribute to substantial enhancement of the environment. Satisfying tourism settings grow out of natural forces and social conditions and are complementary and compatible with them. The proposed Japanese tourist complex on the Queensland coast of Australia, discussed in this paper, could prove a useful vehicle for demonstrating the mutual benefits to be gained from such an harmonious relationship.     

Tourism organizations and land trusts: a sustainable approach to natural resource conservation?

This study explores current and potential collaboration efforts between land trusts (LTs) and tourism entities in the USA. LTs and tourism entities have convergent needs and goals regarding natural resource protection, possibly making them suitable partners. Sustainable tourism development needs natural resource protection; land trusts have proved economically viable and effective methods for protecting natural areas. While some case studies have described collaboration efforts by selected LTs and tourism entities, this mixed methods exploratory study is based upon survey data from 279 local and regional LTs operating across the USA. The study is grounded in both the Primary Environmental Care (PEC) conceptual model and Jafari's Background Tourism Elements concept, providing clarity on current and potential collaboration efforts between LTs and tourism entities. The survey showed that tourism-related characteristics, especially scenic qualities, were acceptable to land trusts, and that tourism was the most mentioned industry within LT areas. Only 39% of LTs currently work with tourism entities; however, only 4% of LTs report opposition from tourism entities to their conservation work. LT managers were strongly in favor of future collaboration with tourism interests. All five of the key components required for the PEC model were found.     

Rock art tourism in the uKhahlamba/Drakensberg World Heritage Site: obstacles to the development of sustainable tourism

This paper focuses on rock art tourism, a highly vulnerable heritage of broad public interest, only sustainable within an effective management framework. The paper explores tourism management in South Africa's uKhahlamba-Drakensberg World Heritage Site, inscribed in 2000 for its natural landscapes and its exceptional rock art heritage. In practice, nature dominates the area's tourism and management dynamics. Current tourism patterns, markets and frequencies, together with rock art's low place within tourist agendas, are described. This situation is shown to be a legacy of European Alpine romanticism, and the political rejection of indigenous cultural heritage prior to 1994, still expressed through visitor patterns and marketing policies. Despite rock art needing tourism to valorise its conservation, and being recognised by commentators and the state as a viable route to tourism development, heritage conservation, socio-economic regeneration and cultural empowerment, the failure to reform entrenched and ineffective tourism/conservation governance and management systems is exposed. The problems affecting rock art tourism have allowed the retention of unwelcome values from South Africa's pre-democratic era, risk the loss of World Heritage site status, the destruction of globally outstanding art works and waste an important opportunity to expand and diversify sustainable tourism in South Africa.     

In Search of Competitive Advantage in Caribbean Tourism Websites

Abstract

The intense competitiveness of the global tourism industry increasingly demands the most effective possible marketing for individual destinations. The strategic management literature suggests that competitive advantage can be gained through capitalizing on a destination's unique attributes. In marketing terms, this translates as “competitive positioning.” To what extent do the individual destinations of the Caribbean seek to competitively position themselves as unique attractions among their many competitors? This paper returns to the concept of the Unique Selling Proposition (USP) as a practical and straightforward framework for analyzing distinctiveness in tourism marketing. An exploratory analysis of web-based marketing in the Caribbean suggests widespread failure of destinations to market themselves in terms of unique competitive positioning. The analysis also reveals several exemplary models of the USP concept in tourism marketing, suggesting opportunities for greater regional cooperation through stronger individual destination identities.     

Image-Based Segmentation of Cultural Tourism Market: The Perceptions of Taiwan's Inbound Visitors

This paper aims at testing the effectiveness of using an image-based approach to segment the cultural tourism market. Identifying 14 image attributes of cultural attractions, Taiwan's inbound tourists were then surveyed to rate the importance of these attributes. Applying a factor–cluster segmentation approach, four discrete image segments were identified, including arts and museum, heritage, living culture, and resulted in a sample of 954 respondents. The research findings reveal several theoretical and empirical implications, including the propositions of cultural distance, omnivorous/univorous, experiential and informational familiarity of destination and the two-dimensional model of cultural tourist typology.