Model for Wildlife Tourism
Written by AZoCleantechMar 1 2021
Wildlife tourism including white shark cage-diving is growing in popularity, but these industries remain highly contentious amongst tourists, conservationists, and scientists alike.
Image Credit: Andrew Fox / Rodney Fox Shark Expeditions
Many voice concerns about possible negative impacts – especially when it targets potentially dangerous animals – while proponents cite the socio-economic benefits to justify wildlife tourism activities.
In reality, wildlife tourism is complex, requiring managers to balance the benefits and drawbacks to determine what is acceptable for such industries.
To help solve this question of “is wildlife tourism good or bad?”, a tool to help managers assess these industries has been created by scientists from Flinders University, the Georgia Aquarium, and Southern Cross University with help from environmental, marine parks, and tourism managers from the South Australian Department for E