Nature, Wild Animals and Tourism: An Experiential View

An experiential view of wildlife tourism concerns the emotional, psychological and physical benefits of taking a wildlife holiday, and provides a different and important understanding of a significant and growing market. Key authors in this field of tourism studies agree that the nature of the tourist experience is a major research priority for the ultimate sustainable management of wildlife-based tourism attractions and destinations. What are the common attributes of a wildlife tourism experience? How does such an experience contribute to the overall psychological well-being of the visitor and what implications might this have for wildlife and wildlife operators? The purpose of this paper is to review the experiential aspects of wildlife tourism consumption that have been revealed to date. It highlights the ethnocentric and anthropomorphic attraction of animals; the human desire to interact with and interpret animal behaviour, and how urbanisation has had a profound affect on our psychological and physical relationship with nature. Particular attention is given to the notions of place, existential space, authenticity and anthropomorphosis. Understanding such concepts in relation to wildlife tourism implies a new phenomenological framework for research to further explore the experiences of wildlife tourists.