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Experience of traditional and natural lifestyles and local culture 1999:101 was important to an en enjoyable ecotourism experience tourists that engage in non-physical forms of adventure seek out the same benefits as those identified above by ukecotourists for example an adventurs holiday to
North-west Vietnam staying in remote tribal villages would offer tourists an opportunity to enjoy the mountains within this region engage in cultural exchange with local people and learn about the destination region its people and its natural resources
The four studies dscussed above demonstrate a number of similarities between adventure and ecotourists some of the motives shared by each type of tourist include the need for norel and stimulating experiences the need to undertake some form of physical a desirs to take in antural wilderness environments a desire to get involed in different
Wildlife touristsand adventure tourists
Wildlife tourism is a niche form of ecotourism that encompasses a widerange of products including safaris wilderness backpacking. aquaria circuses and zoos. many of which fit under thebroad most wildlife tourism takes plastions renowned for their flora and fauna costa ricatouriam successes for instance are based on its wildlife resources and a well proting its natural assets
Wildlife tourists are diverse in natire and are spread across the whole length of the soft- hard adventurer continuum. At the hard end of the scale there are tourists who are highly committed.
Experienced and knowledgeable about a particular area of wildlife. These tourists may go on a highly specialized botanical tour or an advanced level diving holiday. For instance. Novice wildlife tourists are at the other, soft end of the scale. They may go on safari in Kenya or go whale watching around Vancouver lskand. For example.
What wildlife tourist want to experience from a wildlife holiday or activity will vary. They may want to be active participants or passive observers. They may want to view animals that are held in captivity, or encounter animals that roam freely in the wild. The main benefit for active participants is that they have temporary affinity with a different species or its environment (shackley) 1996:60. Such an experience can be fulfilled through swimming with dolphins in their wild habitat for instance. People who prefer to be passive observers when viewing wildlife are content simply to watch and become absorbed in the whole experience. Such satisfaction could be gained from visiting a sea-life centre in the uk or by venturing further afied to a safari destination to view large mammals in their natural habitat. Defined as those existential moments that induce a heightened sense of being alive and make the visitor happier, more contident and less stressed
These peak experiences are also what many adventure tourists aspire to. To illustrate this point compare a tourist who takes a wildlife package holiday to etosha national park Namibia to view wild animals with a tourist who goes on an indenendently organized backpacking trip to the Himalayas.
Wildlife tourism offers a number of toher benefits to its consumers. One sudy investigated the behavior of international tourists visitng penguin place. New Zealand (schanzel and mclntosh.2000
Visitors to penguin place commented favourably on the whole experience fo being in such close proximity to the penguins. Some of the main benefits that they expressed were feelings of fascination. Amazement and a sense of exploration.
Evidently wildlife tourists can be considered as a category of tourists in their own right or a sud-category of adventure tourists. From the limited amount of research presented adove. It is clear that both grous of tourists exhioit similar motives and gain similar benefits from therir adventure or wildlite experiences. Chapter 10 provides a fuller discussion on wildlife adventure tourism