Wildlife tourism
Wildlife tourism is an element of many nations' travel industry centered around observation and interaction with local animal and plant life in their natural habitats.
It has experienced a dramatic and rapid growth in recent years worldwide and many elements are closely aligned to eco-tourism and sustainable tourism.
[1] Wildlife tourism currently employs 22 million people worldwide directly or indirectly, and contributes more than $120 billion to global GDP.
Wildlife viewing can scare away animals, disrupt their feeding and nesting sites, or acclimate them to the presence of people.
The practice of selling slots for tourists to participate in sanctioned hunts[4] and culls,[5] though seemingly innocent, can serve to impact populations negatively through indirect means.
When tourists activities occur during sensitive times of the life cycle (for example, during nesting season), and when they involve close approaches to wildlife for the purpose of identification or photography, the potential for disturbance is high.
Further disturbance to wildlife occurs when tourist guides dig up turtle nests and chase swimming jaguars, tapirs, and otters to give clients better viewing opportunities.
For instance, the tourism zone in the Eravikulam National Park, an important habitat of the Nilgiri tahrs in the Western Ghats, bars visitors from entering for two months during the breeding season.
Artificial feeding by tourists caused a breakdown of the territorial breeding system of land iguanas on the South Plaza in the Galápagos Islands.
These posts are not, in themselves, always negative, however they do often lead to increased visitation at wildlife tourism experiences, and can encourage behaviours that impact animal welfare.
In addition, photos posted from animal tourism experiences can send unintentional message to viewers, particularly when a person is in the frame.
For example, across a range of species, the presence of a human in a wildlife image can increase people's perceptions that the animal would make a good pet, or experiences negative welfare.
[12] In response to these impacts and animal welfare concerns, Instagram and other social media sites now display warnings when viewers search for terms such as "#wildlifeselfie".
In order to provide for less invasive wildlife tourism features and maintain ecosystem health, wild populations occasionally require maintenance measures.
[17] Barrett and Arcese (1998) show that generating money sources from these non-consumptive practices of tourism generate a positive income effect and decrease game meat consumption while lowering illegal hunting (poaching) [18] Wildlife Tourism Australia Inc. held a workshop on this theme in June 2017: Illegal Wildlife Trafficking: Attacking on All Fronts.
