
Tourist Attitudes Towards Marine Mammal Tourism: An Example from the Dominican Republic
In 2002, residents of the village of Bayahibe, Dominican Republic, became concerned about their local dolphin population when eight bottlenose dolphins were captured for a Dominican dolphinarium off the coast of their village within a national park. Subsequently, a collaborative project, El Proyecto Amigos de los Delfines, was established to learn more about this dolphin population and to initiate conservation efforts in the region. In 2007, a survey of tourists in Bayahibe was conducted to assess the degree of interest in local sustainable marine mammal tourism. The results indicated that tourists in this area had a high concern for dolphin conservation and would rather see wild than captive dolphins. Respondents also expressed support for sustainable (vs. conventional) tourism practices.
Keywords: DOLPHINS; DOMINICAN REPUBLIC; SUSTAINABLE MARINE MAMMAL TOURISM; WHALE WATCHING
Document Type: Research Article
Publication date: August 1, 2010
- Tourism in Marine Environments is an interdisciplinary journal dealing with a variety of management issues in marine settings. It is a scientific journal that draws upon the expertise of academics and practitioners from various disciplines related to the marine environment, including tourism, marine science, geography, social sciences, psychology, environmental studies, economics, marketing, and many more.
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