A conceptual model of tourist‐wildlife interaction: the case for education as a management strategy

Abstract There are a wide variety of opportunities for people to interact with wildlife and the demand for these opportunities is growing rapidly. This range of opportunities can be viewed as a Spectrum of Tourist‐Wildlife Interaction Opportunities (SoTWIO). Within this spectrum are both situations where tourists view captive wildlife in facilities such as zoos and circuses and ones where tourists interact with wildlife in the wild, for example, in national parks or the marine environment. There are a wide range of management regimes and structures which are used to control the interaction between tourists and wildlife, and these regimes can be categorised as physical, regulatory, economic and educational. Currently, the management of interaction is dominated by physical and regulatory strategies, but considerable potential exists to increase the role of education‐based management strategies. The development of a conceptual model which clarifies the range of wildlife interaction opportunities and the management regimes used, and which specifies the outcomes desired, establishes a basis upon which the effectiveness of education can be tested.