Understanding wildlife tourism markets

Abstract

[Extract] Understanding the nature of visitors is an important but little researched element of wildlife tourism. While there are many references to the size and growth of this market in the existing literature, very little is known about the actual demand for nonconsumptive wildlife tourism and what characterises tourists who desire wildlife encounters during their holidays. This chapter begins by examining the role of market research in the planning, design and management of sustainable wildlife tourism. It then looks at what is known about the demand for wildlife tourism experiences before examining the factors that influence visitors' satisfaction and responses to management actions.

According to Hall and McArthur (1993) in the field of protected area management, which includes government agencies responsible for wildlife management, marketing is often seen as a negative term because it is associated with commercial interests and sales. Marketing is, however, about: * Determining who the customers or stakeholders are; * What their needs are; * What expectations and motivations they have; * What they currently do; and * How they can be influenced or persuaded to act in ways that match the goals of the setting managers(Mattison, 1996).

Sustainable wildlife tourism requires an understanding of visitors so that programs can be designed to influence visitor behaviour and to support the enhancement of the quality of the experience for visitors thus supporting the financial viability of wildlife tourism operations.