Whale shark tourism at Ningaloo Marine Park: A longitudinal study of wildlife tourism

This article demonstrates the changes that occur due to the maturation of a wildlife tourism industry through the application of a Wildlife Tourism Framework. Specifically, in 2005 survey data was collect from participants of whale shark tourism at Ningaloo Marine Park in Western Australia, facilitating a direct comparison with a study conducted a decade earlier. The results conformed with predictions by the Framework, in particular, a shift in the industry towards the mainstream from the periphery. In comparison with the past, whale shark tourism at Ningaloo now attracts more generalist tourists who place different preferences on the whale shark tourism experience. There is now a greater distribution of age groups; less skilled individuals; a higher tolerance to crowding; and a larger focus on the non-wildlife components of the experience. Furthermore, this article, discusses the pertinent management implications associated with this shift.     

Visitors’ memories of wildlife tourism: Implications for the design of powerful interpretive experiences

One of the aims of wildlife tourism is to educate visitors about the threats facing wildlife in general, and the actions needed to protect the environment and maintain biodiversity. To identify effective strategies to achieve this aim, this paper examines participants’ memories of their wildlife tourism experiences and explores processes through which such experiences can lead to long-term changes in conservation behaviour. Findings are based on 240 visitors’ extended open-ended responses to a follow-up web survey administered approximately four months after a visit to one of four marine-based wildlife tourism venues in Southeast Queensland. Qualitative analysis revealed four levels of visitor response to the experience, implying a process involving what visitors actually saw and heard (sensory impressions), what they felt (emotional affinity), thought (reflective response), and finally what they did about it (behavioural response). Recommendations are provided for ways tourism managers and wildlife interpreters can maintain and strengthen these dimensions of memorable experiences in order to enhance visitor satisfaction and encourage visitors’ long-term adoption of environmentally sustainable practices.     

But are tourists satisfied? Importance-performance analysis of the whale shark tourism industry on Isla Holbox, Mexico

The objective of this paper is to understand the motivations and satisfactions of whale shark tour participants on Isla Holbox, Mexico in order to assess the success of this industry in meeting customer expectations. Whale shark tour participants were provided with a list of environmental and setting features and asked to rate the importance of, and satisfaction with, each feature. Importance-performance (IP) analysis was used to compare these scores and identify areas of management concern. The IP analysis identified key issues with false advertising, lack of educational information, perceived crowding, and tour cost. These factors are representative of larger issues related to the uncontrolled growth of the whale shark tourism industry on Holbox. Management should focus on limiting the growth of the industry, ensuring the equitable distribution of economic benefits within the industry, and developing and implementing effective guide training and interpretation programs.     

Monitoring tourists’ specialisation and implementing adaptive governance is necessary to avoid failure of the wildlife tourism commons

Wildlife tourism (WT) is an important economic sector globally, which can sustain national and local economies. These activities have been reconceptualised as consumptive because of their impacts on the wildlife, and the problem of managing WT as a common-pool resource issue. We use an individual-based model to simulate the dynamics of a WT destination in different development phases. We then ask if any of the governance structures commonly proposed to solve common pool resource issues are appropriate to sustainably manage a WT destination during its development. The level of specialisation of tourists visiting a destination can influence both the exploitation of the wildlife and the socio-economic success of the industry, and no single governance structure leads to sustainability in every stage of a WT destination lifecycle. Given the dynamics of WT destinations, an adaptive governance framework is crucial to avoid wildlife depletion and economic failure of the industry.     

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.     

In the absence of a main attraction – Perspectives from polar bear watching tourism participants

Wildlife watching tourism has recently received more attention in the tourism literature. However, research is still needed on participants' perceptions on the unpredictable nature of wild animals as main attractions. Information on this topic may help providers keep participants satisfied in the absence of wildlife and move away from exploitative practices sometimes used to guarantee close encounters. Using polar bear tourism as a case study, content analysis of TripAdvisor reviews from Churchill (Canada) and Svalbard (Norway) was used to examine participants’ comments on unpredictable wildlife and reactions when polar bears were not found. Findings indicate that to keep participants satisfied, wildlife watching tourism providers should focus on more controllable parts of the experience, such as high-quality guiding, expectations management, and secondary, more guaranteed side activities. They should also make the most of the natural surroundings, other wildlife in the area and signs of the focal species when encountered.     

Management of Conservation in Spaces of Recreational Use

Summary

The tourist area (TA) Lago Gutierrez is located in the reservation area of National Nahuel Huapi Park, Patagonia, Argentina. Its ecological landscape is composed of mountains with glacier lakes, cascades, and forests of Nothofagus. These attractions facilitate activities such as trekking, bathing, hiking, picnics, and camping among others.

This TA, has an intense tourist and recreational use, which creates disorder, and so measures have been taken by management in order to recuperate different sectors of varying degrees of ecological impacts. For example, the transfer of a camping site located in a stand of coihues trees (Nothofagus dombeyi).

The objectives proposed were to identify tourist and recreational impacts and the perceptions of visitors concerning these impacts, in order to propose management measures in Gutierrez TA.

Using the LAC (Limits of acceptable change, Stankey et al., 1985) methodology, theauthorstookintoaccount physical, biological, and social variables: coihue renewals, bare ground, the number of people, their activities, behavior, spontaneous paths, control, and information. They also carried out non-participative observations, and administered questionnaires and interviews to visitors and others.

The results show that the management measures applied to the TA are insufficient. Evidence of this is in the low recovery of the forest undergrowth and paths, widening of pathways, littering, damaged trees and other impacts.     

Progress in dark tourism and thanatourism research: An uneasy relationship with heritage tourism

This paper reviews academic research into dark tourism and thanatourism over the 1996–2016 period. The aims of this paper are threefold. First, it reviews the evolution of the concepts of dark tourism and thanatourism, highlighting similarities and differences between them. Second it evaluates progress in 6 key themes and debates. These are: issues of the definition and scope of the concepts; ethical issues associated with such forms of tourism; the political and ideological dimensions of dark tourism and thanatourism; the nature of demand for places of death and suffering; the management of such places; and the methods of research used for investigating such tourism. Third, research gaps and issues that demand fuller scrutiny are identified. The paper argues that two decades of research have not convincingly demonstrated that dark tourism and thanatourism are distinct forms of tourism, and in many ways they appear to be little different from heritage tourism.