The Elephant Tourism Business

Description

Elephant tourism is a growing attraction in many countries across Asia and Africa and is popular with tourists from many origins. As elephants are no longer used in the logging industry in Asia, elephant tourism has grown rapidly, providing the only viable way that elephants and their owners can generate income. Old logging camps were developed into sanctuaries for some elephants, but many other camps were established as entertainment centres, with various welfare issues resulting for the elephants and their mahouts. The profits from elephant tourism in Asia have encouraged African operators to follow a similar business model. This book draws attention to the need for a comprehensive and rigorous focus on local solutions to improve the welfare of captive elephants and tourists' experiences of elephant tourism, to the benefit of local communities by: Critically reviewing recent research into elephant tourism Providing contemporary analytical case studies of elephant tourism policy and practice Identifying future research priorities The Elephant Tourism Business will contribute to a better understanding of how elephant tourism is organised, regulated and promoted, both in tourist origin countries and in elephant areas. It identifies priorities for future research into elephant tourism and provides a unique, authoritative resource for researchers, elephant managers and administrators, and tourism managers in this developing area of international concern. The book will be of interest to academics and practitioners with backgrounds in conservation, environment, tourism and veterinary sciences. Cover The Elephant Tourism Business Copyright Contents Foreword Preface Contributors Elephant Tourism Glossary An Elephant Portrait Gallery Introduction to The Elephant Tourism Business Section 1 Personal Experiences of Elephant Tourism 1 Managing the Anantara Golden Triangle Elephant Camp: Eric Laws Interviews John Roberts 2 PATA and Jetwing: John Koldowski Interviews Chi Lo and Senal Siriwardene 3 The Elephant in the Room: An Autoethnographic Approach Section 2 Expectations and Experiences of Interactions with Elephants 4 Drivers of Elephant Tourism in Thailand 5 Visitor Expectations and Behaviours at Elephant Camps 6 Alternative Forms of Elephant Tourism 7 Elephant Visitor Preferences and Experiences in Sri Lanka Section 3 Ethical and Moral Perspectives 8 Moral Tensions for Elephant Visitors 9 The Valuation of Ethical Encounters with Elephants 10 Community Collaboration,Elephant Conservationand Protection 11 Conservation-Based Elephant Tourism: An Importance–Performance Analysis Section 4 Frameworks for Modern Elephant Tourism Management 12 The Effectiveness of Elephant Welfare Regulations in India 13 Elephant Tourism Conservation and the Need for a New Strategy: Thai Stakeholder Attitudes 14 Elephant Tourism, the ABTA Animal Welfare Guidelines Section 5 Elephants and Their Stories 15 A Case Study of Elephant Venue Narratives 16 The Valuation of Elephant Sightings in Protected Areas 17 Social Media: A Proxy Voice for Elephants Section 6 What Next? Proxy Voices for Elephants 18 Modernizing Human–Elephant Interactions 19 Validating a Captive Elephant Welfare Index 20 Promoting Elephant-Friendly Tourism 21 The Paradox of Elephant-Friendly Tourism Postscript: COVID-19 and Elephant Tourism, a Preliminary Analysis Conclusion Index Cover_Back