Wildlife ecotourism is becoming a well-established industry due to its ability to contribute to local economies and the growing tourist demand for opportunities to observe endangered or rare species. Wildlife ecotourism is also recognized for its ability to provide free choice-learning settings for visitors, through the use of environmental interpretation programs. The process of environmental interpretation is a communication phenomenon thought to hold the potential to contribute to conservation by educating and raising awareness amongst tourists about environmental issues. Using a qualitative phenomenological research design, this research examined the environmental interpretation programs of great white shark ecotourism operators in Gansbaai, South Africa, from the perspective of tourists. Findings indicated that while tourists did not primarily choose to embark on shark tourism excursions to learn more about the species, many participants became slightly more informed about great whites and the surrounding environment after their experience. It was also found that most participants did not experience nervousness or fear when in the water with great whites, but instead felt an emotional connection and appreciation for the animal, causing a shift towards pro-conservation attitudes.

This research goes beyond the traditionally studied intricacies and contentions within northern Tanzania’s community-based conservation by looking at how the state’s engagement, through wildlife tourism, with local communities in and around protected areas impacts the country’s development and conservation of its wildlife. It draws heavily on Tanzania’s Development Vision 2025 and how the wildlife tourism industry feeds into achieving its objectives. This research looks through the theoretical lens of political ecology, the theory of access, and the powers of exclusion. It applies a qualitative content analysis by coding different types of existing literature in NVivo, and includes semi-structured interviews with key respondents. The research concludes that the government’s recentralization of wildlife management is working opposite to its development ambitions as per Vision 2025, and it is doing very little to address the crisis within its ecosystems and to enhance wildlife conservation. Ultimately, it is through the government’s efforts to protect Tanzania’s ecological uniqueness that both conservation and development have faced increased challenges in its efforts to improve.

As interações entre humanos e animais silvestres são frequentes em parques e outras áreas verdes ao redor do mundo, causando impactos positivos e negativos para ambos. Compreender a natureza psicológica dessas interações é fundamental para lidar com os conflitos que surgem. Essa dissertação está dividida em dois estudos que tratam dessa questão. O primeiro é um ensaio em que defendemos que a abordagem psicoetológica possui ferramentas teóricas e metodológicas que podem ajudar a lidar com esses conflitos. Concluímos que a observação naturalística das interações com a diversidade animal é importante para se compreender os mecanismos regulatórios e a dinâmica das interações, e assim propor intervenções que sejam específicas aos contextos em que elas se inserem. O segundo é um estudo naturalístico em que são investigadas interações de visitantes com diferentes animais em um parque. Partindo da hipótese de que há um viés filogenético em nossa interação com outros animais, testamos se, no parque estudado, os visitantes exibem comportamentos potencialmente afiliativos dirigidos àquelas categorias animais filogeneticamente mais próximas aos humanos. Um viés filogenético foi identificado, mas características físicas e comportamentais de humanos e nãohumanos dentro do ambiente do parque podem afetar a dinâmica de interação, e devem ser tratadas em futuras investigações. Concluímos levantamos possibilidades de intervenção na dinâmica interacional do parque que promovam relações mais saudáveis com os animais silvestres / Human-wildlife interactions are common in parks and other green areas around the world, causing positive and negative impacts. Understanding the psychological nature of these interactions is critical to overcome conflicts. This work is divided into two studies about this question. The first is an essay in which we argue that the psychoethological approach has theoretical and methodological tools which can help to solve conflicts. We conclude that naturalistic observations of the diversity of human-animal interactions are important to comprehend regulatory mechanisms and interaction dynamics, and thus to propose interventions to specific contexts. The second is a naturalistic study in which we investigate human interactions with different animals in a park. We hypothesize that there is a phylogenetic bias in our relations with other animals, and we tested whether visitants exhibit more affiliative-like behaviors toward animals phylogenetically related to humans. The phylogenetic bias has been identified, but physic and behavioral characteristics of humans and nonhumans within the park might affect interaction dynamics and should be addressed in future investigations. We conclude raising possibilities of intervention in the park to promote healthier relations with wildlife

Submitted by Renata Lopes (renatasil82@gmail.com) on 2016-02-01T17:37:43Z No. of bitstreams: 1 marianapaschoalinifrias.pdf: 2091123 bytes, checksum: 66f1ece74d34128341ecabe8fe128048 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2016-02-01T20:14:48Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 marianapaschoalinifrias.pdf: 2091123 bytes, checksum: 66f1ece74d34128341ecabe8fe128048 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-02-01T20:14:48Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 marianapaschoalinifrias.pdf: 2091123 bytes, checksum: 66f1ece74d34128341ecabe8fe128048 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-03-18 / Muito têm se falado sobre a problemática envolvendo turistas e botos vermelhos na Amazônia. A interação boto-homem com fins turísticos no Brasil é relatada há aproximadamente seis anos por pesquisadores que observaram efeitos negativos desse tipo de atividade tanto para animais (mudanças comportamentais, principalmente) quanto para turistas envolvidos (acidentes com lesões). Porém, a forma menos impactante dessa atividade, o Ecoturismo, é apontada por muitos pesquisadores a nível nacional e internacional como alternativa viável para a conservação dos cetáceos (baleias e golfinhos). Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar, de acordo com a percepção dos turistas entrevistados, o principal fator que influência na satisfação de turistas que buscam as atividades de interação com botos. E assim, discutir qual o modelo adequado de atividade sob uma perspectiva ecoturística considerando o bem estar dos golfinhos envolvidos e a satisfação dos visitantes. Foram aplicados 149 questionários autoexplicativos no período de Julho de 2012 à Janeiro de 2013 em dois pontos turísticos no estado do Amazonas, Brasil. Os questionários foram elaborados com questões fechadas e abertas, e, um teste de percepção subjetivo através de uma Escala Visual Analógica (EVA) para avaliação do estado subjetivo de satisfação quanto à interação com botos. Dos questionários recolhidos 107 fizeram parte das análises. Adicionalmente foram realizadas observações turísticas participantes (OTPs) e registros vídeo/fotográficos. O principal fator gerador de altos níveis de satisfação dos turistas foi a aproximação do animal (p<0,001) escolhido pelo Modelo Linear Generalizado Binomial Negativo. Os níveis de satisfação encontrados (em uma escala de 0 a 10) estiveram cima de 8 caracterizando as atividades como boas. A interação próxima de nado e alimentação de golfinhos selvagens é controversa quanto ao beneficio gerado para os envolvidos, uma vez que compreende riscos físicos aos turistas e físicos/comportamentais aos golfinhos. A forma turística de observação próxima de botos se mostra como modelo mais adequado ao tipo de turismo realizado com botos selvagens na Amazônia, uma vez que prioriza uma forma menos impactante de atividade turística e oferece a condição de proximidade com o animal. / Much has been said about the problems involving tourists and pink dolphins in Amazonian. The dolphin-human interaction for tourism in Brazil is reported about six years by researchers who observed negative effects of this type of activities on both animals (behavioral changes, especially) and - tourists involved (accidents with injuries). However, a less invasive manner of this activity, the Ecotourism, is considered by many researchers, nationally and internationally, as a viable alternative for the conservation of cetacean (whales and dolphins). This study aimed to investigate, according to the perception of tourists interviewed, what is the main factor which influences the satisfaction of the tourists who seeking interaction activities with dolphins. Thus, to discuss the appropriate activity template under an ecotourism perspective considering the dolphins welfare involved and the visitor satisfaction, were conducted 149 self-explanatory questionnaires during the time between the months July 2012 to January 2013 in two tourist places in Amazonas state, Brazil . The questionnaires were designed with open and closed questions and a test of subjective perception through a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) to assess subjective state of tourist satisfaction about the interaction with dolphins. A total of 107 questionnaires were part of the analysis. In addition the participant touristic observations (PTOs) and video/photographic recording were made. The main factor that generates high levels of tourist satisfaction was the animal approach (p<0.001) chosen by the Negative Binomial Generalized Linear Model. Satisfaction levels found (on scale of 0 to 10) were greater than 8 featuring the activities as good. The close interaction of swimming and feeding wild dolphins is controversial about the benefit generated to those involved, because it comprises physical risks to humans and physical/behavioral risks to dolphins. The close observation tourism of ‘botos’ presents as the most appropriate type of tourism conducted with wild dolphins in Amazon, since it prioritizes a less impactful way of tourism and offers the condition of proximity to the animal.

Tourism comprises the world's largest industry, and beaches (marine tourism) are considered as one of the major tourism attractions in the world. Marine tourism includes different aspects such as the ocean, coastal water sports, hotels and restaurants, island and beach resorts, recreation, fishing boat operators, cruise ships and charter yacht companies. One of the main contributors to marine and wildlife tourism in South Africa, is South African National Parks (SANParks), comprising of 21 national parks. Of the 21 National Parks six are marine national parks covering 4004.4 square kilometres namely West Coast, Wilderness, Tsitsikamma, Addo Elephant, Agulhas and Table Mountain National Parks. The two most known Marine National Parks in South Africa are Tsitsikamma and Addo Elephant National Parks: Addo Elephant for the fact that it is the only national park in South Africa hosting the BIG 7, namely elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, leopard, whales and great white sharks. Tsitsikamma National Park is important as it is the first and oldest Marine National Park in Africa. South African National Parks receive thousands of visitors each year and tourists visiting these parks are a source of revenue for national parks and by determining travel motives, marketing can be undertaken more effectively, and specific factors can be taken into account when the marketing strategies are being planned. The literature review indicated that an understanding of tourist motives is a key aspect in understanding tourist behaviour. If the travel motives of tourists are known to product owners, in the case of South African National Parks, they will assist the product owner with product development as well as its marketing strategy. By understanding tourist behaviour one can understand why tourists buy certain products and why they make certain decisions. Tourist behaviour can be analysed in terms of the purchasing process a tourist goes through when making a decision. Different tourists will have different decision making processes and will have different motives for buying different products and services. To be able to understand how buyers proceed through the decision making process one has to look at the tourist decision–making process which consists of different influences like demographic factors, the marketing mix, internal/ psychological, external/social and situational factors. From the literature review, the following travel motivations theories were identified: Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Murray's classification of needs, Mill and Morrison's needs and wants theory, Push and Pull theories and the Sun lust and Wanderlust theory. It was found in the literature review that there are some travel motives that are found in most of the nature based destinations such as “relaxation and escape”, “learn about nature” and “park attributes” to name but a few. The research, however, also found that travel motives are closely linked to what these destinations offer and it was also found that different marine destinations seem also to have different travel motives. The aim of this study is, therefore, to determine the travel motives of tourists to selected Marine National Parks in South Africa. Secondary data was used to determine the visitor's profile as well as the factor analysis on travel motives. Four hundred and eight questionnaires were administered to the Addo Elephant National Park and 495 to the Tsitsikamma National Park. The data analysis consisted of two parts, the first part was descriptive data and here the profile of the visitors to the two selected marine national parks was discussed. In the second part a factor analysis was conducted. The aim of a factor analysis is to reduce the data and to assist in the interpretation of the data. A factor analysis further describes the variance–covariance relationship among a number of variables in terms of a few underlying but unobservable random quantities, called factors. For this research a principal axis factor analysis with Oblimin with Kaiser Normalisation rotation was performed on the 22 travel motive items. The visitors' profiles for both the parks were quite similar except for the following: The largest percentage of the visitors to Tsitsikamma National Park were Afrikaans speaking and not as in the case of Addo Elephant National Park most tourists were English speaking, The major markets for Addo Elephant National Park, were the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces and for the Tsitsikamma National Park the major markets were Gauteng and the Western Cape Provinces. The factor analysis regarding travel motives revealed the following four factors: Education and knowledge seeking, Relaxation and escape, Park attributes and Family togetherness. A comparison was done regarding the travel motives of tourists to the two national parks to determine if there were any differences. A small to medium effect size was found for “relax and escape” and “education and learning about wildlife”, therefore, a small to medium statistical significant difference were found. This research confirmed that different marine destinations have different travel motives. Therefore, marketers can use this information and focus on individual marketing for each park based on the products they offer. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Tourism comprises the world's largest industry, and beaches (marine tourism) are considered as one of the major tourism attractions in the world. Marine tourism includes different aspects such as the ocean, coastal water sports, hotels and restaurants, island and beach resorts, recreation, fishing boat operators, cruise ships and charter yacht companies. One of the main contributors to marine and wildlife tourism in South Africa, is South African National Parks (SANParks), comprising of 21 national parks. Of the 21 National Parks six are marine national parks covering 4004.4 square kilometres namely West Coast, Wilderness, Tsitsikamma, Addo Elephant, Agulhas and Table Mountain National Parks. The two most known Marine National Parks in South Africa are Tsitsikamma and Addo Elephant National Parks: Addo Elephant for the fact that it is the only national park in South Africa hosting the BIG 7, namely elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, leopard, whales and great white sharks. Tsitsikamma National Park is important as it is the first and oldest Marine National Park in Africa. South African National Parks receive thousands of visitors each year and tourists visiting these parks are a source of revenue for national parks and by determining travel motives, marketing can be undertaken more effectively, and specific factors can be taken into account when the marketing strategies are being planned. The literature review indicated that an understanding of tourist motives is a key aspect in understanding tourist behaviour. If the travel motives of tourists are known to product owners, in the case of South African National Parks, they will assist the product owner with product development as well as its marketing strategy. By understanding tourist behaviour one can understand why tourists buy certain products and why they make certain decisions. Tourist behaviour can be analysed in terms of the purchasing process a tourist goes through when making a decision. Different tourists will have different decision making processes and will have different motives for buying different products and services. To be able to understand how buyers proceed through the decision making process one has to look at the tourist decision–making process which consists of different influences like demographic factors, the marketing mix, internal/ psychological, external/social and situational factors. From the literature review, the following travel motivations theories were identified: Maslow's hierarchy of needs, Murray's classification of needs, Mill and Morrison's needs and wants theory, Push and Pull theories and the Sun lust and Wanderlust theory. It was found in the literature review that there are some travel motives that are found in most of the nature based destinations such as “relaxation and escape”, “learn about nature” and “park attributes” to name but a few. The research, however, also found that travel motives are closely linked to what these destinations offer and it was also found that different marine destinations seem also to have different travel motives. The aim of this study is, therefore, to determine the travel motives of tourists to selected Marine National Parks in South Africa. Secondary data was used to determine the visitor's profile as well as the factor analysis on travel motives. Four hundred and eight questionnaires were administered to the Addo Elephant National Park and 495 to the Tsitsikamma National Park. The data analysis consisted of two parts, the first part was descriptive data and here the profile of the visitors to the two selected marine national parks was discussed. In the second part a factor analysis was conducted. The aim of a factor analysis is to reduce the data and to assist in the interpretation of the data. A factor analysis further describes the variance–covariance relationship among a number of variables in terms of a few underlying but unobservable random quantities, called factors. For this research a principal axis factor analysis with Oblimin with Kaiser Normalisation rotation was performed on the 22 travel motive items. The visitors' profiles for both the parks were quite similar except for the following: The largest percentage of the visitors to Tsitsikamma National Park were Afrikaans speaking and not as in the case of Addo Elephant National Park most tourists were English speaking, The major markets for Addo Elephant National Park, were the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces and for the Tsitsikamma National Park the major markets were Gauteng and the Western Cape Provinces. The factor analysis regarding travel motives revealed the following four factors: Education and knowledge seeking, Relaxation and escape, Park attributes and Family togetherness. A comparison was done regarding the travel motives of tourists to the two national parks to determine if there were any differences. A small to medium effect size was found for “relax and escape” and “education and learning about wildlife”, therefore, a small to medium statistical significant difference were found. This research confirmed that different marine destinations have different travel motives. Therefore, marketers can use this information and focus on individual marketing for each park based on the products they offer. / Thesis (M.Com. (Tourism))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2012.

Nature-based tourism offers significant socio-economic incentives to successfully replace more intrusive land uses but also causes negative environmental impacts. Currently, knowledge is needed about the effectiveness of specific management actions such as the provision of different access modes and tour experiences at minimizing these impacts while maximizing visitor satisfaction. Nature-based tourism activities were studied in the species-rich gorges of the Flinders Ranges in Outback Australia. This study developed a conceptual framework of visitor-environment relationships, constructed a regional visitor profile, assessed visitor monitoring methods to quantify usage intensity in relation to the access mode (roads vs. hiking trails), examined changes in vegetation and bird communities in relation to usage intensity and access mode, tested effects of approach behaviour among driving vs. hiking tourists on kangaroo behaviour, and designed a framework for a night-time wildlife tour. The usage intensity of gorge sections was best determined from visitor numbers stratified by their behaviour, as the access mode fundamentally changed visitor behaviour in gorges. High compared to low usage recreational tracks altered species community composition, decreased total plant cover, increased non-native species cover, increased or decreased plant diversity depending on the track distance, increased soil compaction, and decreased bird numbers and species richness. Vegetation changes had secondary aversive effects on the bird community. The magnitude and spatial extent of these community impacts were greater along roads than trails. Visitor approach towards kangaroos varied with the access mode and necessitated individual recommendations for low-impact behaviour. The optimal night-time observation tour employed night-vision devices and bat detectors and coupled visitor satisfaction with low impact on wildlife. A range of factors (e.g., weather conditions) moderated the susceptibility of the wildlife to tourism disturbance. To protect wildlife and habitat along recreational tracks in arid-lands gorges, it is recommended to (1) monitor usage intensity and the identified impact indicators within their effect zone, (2) curtail gorge usage by restricting vehicle access to sections and regulating high impact activities (e.g., wild camping), (3) base environmental education upon scientifically tested low-impact visitor behaviour, and (4) engage with tourism operators in the design of low-impact, yet satisfying tours based on scientific principles.

Biodiversity loss is one of the major environmental threats facing the planet. Incentive-based conservation is one means to reduce human pressure on wildlife by providing economic incentives for resource-dependent people to protect the environment. Marine wildlife tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism sectors globally and is viewed as an important incentive-based approach for achieving marine conservation goals. However, few studies have linked participation in the provisioning of marine wildlife tourism activities with positive social and ecological conservation outcomes. The goal of this dissertation is to provide greater understanding of the conservation value of marine wildlife tourism using whale shark tourism as a case study with a main focus on social conservation outcomes amongst tourism providers. Positive changes in perceptions, attitudes and values towards target species and their environments can be an important element of incentive-based conservation. The study has the following objectives: (1) to assess the status of the global whale shark tourism industry, including types (e.g., captive, non-captive), real and potential impacts, conservation value and management challenges and best practices; (2) to examine the ethics of provisioning whale sharks in Oslob, Philippines, the largest, non-captive viewing site in the world; (3) to determine if working in ecotourism changed the attitudes and behaviours of locals towards whale sharks and the ocean, and if tourism type affects those outcomes; (4) to assess the marine wildlife value orientations of locals working in whale shark tourism to achieve greater understanding of the factors influencing their conservation attitudes and behaviours; (5) to explore the potential long-term impacts of poorly conceived incentive-based conservation projects on social and ecological conservation outcomes; and (6) to re-examine and update the conceptual and theoretical background for wildlife tourism in light of the findings of this study. Methods include a comprehensive literature review, tourist surveys, social media content analysis, and interviews with locals working in whale shark tourism at four sites in the Philippines. Results suggest that marine wildlife tourism can play an important role in changing locals’ attitudes and behaviours towards the focal species and habitat; however, smaller-scale, more established sites had greater conservation value than the mass tourism or failed sites suggesting that small-scale, community-based ecotourism is the best approach to meeting conservation goals of marine wildlife tourism. Yet, few tourism sites meet these standards. Global standards are needed to ensure whale shark tourism activities meet desired conservation goals. Such standards should include management requirements (e.g., licensing, mandatory education program) and interaction guidelines (e.g. minimum viewing distances, limits on the number of swimmers/boats, etc.). The findings also emphasise that economics should not be the only or primary metric used to measure conservation success; rather, the focus should be on assessing a more comprehensive range of social and ecological conservation outcomes of these activities. / Graduate / 2020-04-16