This book outlines the status quo of worldwide wildlife tourism and its impacts on planning, management, knowledge, awareness, behaviour and attitudes related to wildlife encounters. It sets out to fill the considerable gaps in our knowledge on wildlife tourism, applied ecology, and environmental education, providing comprehensive information on and an interdisciplinary approach to effective management in wildlife tourism.Examining the intricacies, challenges, and lessons learned in a meaningful and rewarding tourism niche, this interdisciplinary book comprehensively examines the major potentials and controversies in the wildlife tourism industry. Pursuing an insightful, provocative and hands-on approach, it primarily addresses two questions: ¿Can we reconcile the needs of the wildlife tourism industry, biodiversity conservation, ecological learning and animal ethics issues?¿ and ¿What is the Future of the Wildlife Tourism Industry?¿.Though primarily intended as a research text, it also offers a valuable resource for a broad readership, which includes university and training students, researchers, scholars, tourism practitioners and professionals, planners and managers, as well as the staff of government agencies.

Fills a gap in the literature by discussing 'wildlife tourism', 'ecological issues', and 'environmental education and interpretation' as intertwined themes

Preface Part I - Introduction and Major Concepts on Human-Wildlife Encounters 1.0 Introduction: An overview of the contemporary state of the worldwide wildlife tourism 1.1 Conceptualization: The importance and application of environmental education and 'applied ecology' in the wildlife tourism context1.2 Other conceptual approaches for the case: Animals ethics Part II - Wildlife Tourism, Applied Ecology, and Environmental Interpretation 2.0 Understanding the key species in the Tourism Industry 2.1 Conservation of biodiversity including wildlife of tourism interest and all other fauna and flora 2.2 Wildlife tourism and opportunities for environmental interpretation and Education 2.3 Impacts on knowledge: visitor learning in captive and non-captive wildlife tourism 2.4 School visitors and environmental education: wildlife encounters for curriculum-based learning 2.5 Wildlife tourism and encounters as a source of education, training or science 2.6 Educational wildlife experiences2.7 Citizen science in tourism 2.8 Conflicts between wildlife conservation and animal welfare in the tourism industry 2.9 Disturbing Skippy on TourPart III - Ethical and Moral Issues, and the Best Practices in Wildlife Encounters: Worldwide Case Studies 3.0 Wild Discovery and Wildlife Watching in the wild3.1 Animals in natural or semi-natural environments with little direct contact3.3 Ethical and moral issues in Wildlife Interaction in Captive and Semi-captive Environments3.4 Hunting Safaris and Fishing