Analysis of wildlife tourism experiences with endangered species: An exploratory study of encounters with giant pandas in Chengdu,China
Affiliation:
1. Southern Cross University, Australia;2. Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka;1. Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA;2. Department of Geography, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA;3. Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation, China West Normal University, Ministry of Education, Nanchong, Sichuan Province 637009, China;1. Key Laboratory of Southwest China Wildlife Resources Conservation (Ministry of Education), China West Normal University, 1# Shida Road, Nanchong 637009, PR China;2. Institute for Conservation Research, San Diego Zoo Global, 15600 San Pasqual Valley Road Escondido, CA 92027-7000, USA;3. CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservational Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1# Beichenxi Road, Beijing 100101, PR China;4. Center for Excellence in Animal Evolution and Genetics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, PR China
Abstract:
This research examined wildlife tourism experiences in a unique site and species combination: giant pandas at the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding (CRBGPB) in Sichuan, China. Content analysis was undertaken on tourist reviews of CRBGPB on TripAdvisor.com in early 2012. The thematic analysis qualitative method was adopted in examining respondents' written reviews of experiences interacting with giant pandas. ROST CM6 and NVivo 8 were used for the content analysis and qualitative coding.A variety of tourist experiences, motivations, and preferences were revealed. Although respondents' experiences were varied, satisfaction increased with closer encounters and interactions with the giant pandas. The thematic analysis identified three features of the wildlife tourism experiences at CRBGPB: tourists, giant pandas, and settings. Implications and management recommendations were identified for sites offering wildlife tourism experiences.
