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International Centre for Tourism & Hospitality Research
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The Economic Impact of Wildlife Tourism in Scotland

Funded by the Enterprise, Energy and Tourism Directorate (Scottish Government) and Scottish Natural Heritage

Project Lead: Professor Adam Blake

Background

The last five years have seen an incremental growth in the range and volume of wildlife tourism activities worldwide, with wildlife tourism growing at a faster rate than tourism as a whole. This fast growth has not just been in terms of numbers of tourists, but also in the number of different types of commercial wildlife watching activities developed, the number of tourism businesses offering these activities worldwide and the number of tourists engaging in them either as the primary motivation for travel or as a day trip whilst on a standard rest and relaxation holiday.

The global market size of wildlife tourism today is an estimated 12 million trips annually, and is growing at 10% per annum. According to the literature and industry commentators, this growth is driven by an increasingly urbanised population, the educational, emotional and restorative nature of wildlife watching, the increased exposure through television documentaries, media coverage of endangered species, and silver screen documentaries such as the March of the Penguins. There is also an element of ‘last chance’ tourism to see species such as polar bears, tigers, gorillas and pandas which puts increasing pressure on already endangered species.

The broad term ‘wildlife tourism’ is used to describe an extensive range of different wildlife-based trips which can be segmented according to both the level of involvement inherent in the tourists’ motivations, the length of engagement and the type of flora and fauna. ‘Wildlife holidays’, however, are distinct from other nature-based holiday activities insofar as the main motivation to visit a destination is to see and gain an understanding of the local fauna and flora without harming the natural environment.

Aim & Objectives

The aim of the research is to provide a robust assessment of the nature and net economic impact of the wildlife tourism market in Scotland, identifying key trends and opportunities for growth.
The two main objectives are:

    1. to undertake an assessment of both the gross economic contribution and the net economic impact of wildlife tourism in Scotland
    2. to undertake a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) of the market for wildlife tourism to obtain a better understanding of the factors determining or constraining market growth, to identify any opportunities to stimulate growth and to suggest how these might be achieved.

For further detail on this project please contact Prof. Adam Blake.

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