Differences among Nonresident Tourists Making Consumptive and Nonconsumptive Uses of Alaskan Wildlife

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Tourism is an important sector of Alaska's economy; 23% of 4202 parties of tourists vacationing in Alaska from October 1982 to September 1983 indicated they hunted or fished. Tourists making consumptive use (hunting or fishing) of wildlife differed significantly from other visitors. Those who hunted or fished 1) were in larger groups that contained a higher proportion of males; 2) tended to be younger; 3) were more involved in planning their vacation as indicated by starting the planning for their trip earlier and using more sources of information; 4) spent longer in the state and camped more often; 5 ) were more likely to charter aircraft within Alaska; 6) rated their experience highly, but thought they received a lower value for monies spent: 7) expended fewer total funds on their vacation; and 8) were more likely to return to Alaska than their counterparts who neither hunted nor fished. Visitors who used wildlife consumptively provided funds directly to the state for the conservation of these species through the purchase of hunting and fishing licenses and the subsequent receipt by the state of federal funds via the Pittman-Robertson and Dingell-Johnson acts. No formal mechanism exists for nonconsumptive users to aid wildlife conservation even though some nonconsumptive uses of resources are detrimental to wildlife. Although wildlife and their habitats are an important attractor for tourists, too little attention is given to the long-term benefits from the tourism industry in assessing the economic value of resource development and use that affects wildlife. Key words: Alaska, fishing, hunting, tourists, wildlife RÉSUM~. Le tourisme represente un secteur important de 1'Cconomie alaskienne, et 23% des 4202 groupes de touristes qui ont passe des vacances en Alaska entre octobre 1982 et septembre 1983, ont indique qu'ils avaient chasse ou pêche. Les touristes qui consommaient le produit de leur chasse ou de leur pêche differaient sensiblement des autres visiteurs sur les points suivants: 1) ils formaient de plus grands groupes qui contenaient une plus grande proportion d'hommes; 2) leur moyenne d'âge etait genedement plus basse; 3) ils s'impliquaient plus dans la planification de leurs vacances en commençant les prkparatifs de leur voyage plus tôt par exemple et en utilisant plus de sources d'information; 4) ils passaient plus de temps en Alaska et campaient plus souvent; 5 ) ils avaient plus tendance B noliser un avion tI l'interieur de l'Alaska; 6) ils haluaient leur experience de façon trks positive, mais pensaient qu'ils n'en avaient pas eu autant pour leur argent; 7) ils depensaient moins d'argent au total durant leurs vacances et 8) ils etaient plus susceptibles de revenir en Alaska. Les visiteurs qui consommaient le produit de leur chasse et de leur *he apportaient directement des fonds B l'État pour la conservation de ces espbces avec l'achat de leur permis de chasse et de pêche, ainsi qu'avec l'application des lois Pittman-Robertson et DingellJohnson concernant le versement subsequent de fonds...

Antler Size of Alaskan Moose Alces Alces Gigas: Effects of Population Density, Hunter Harvest and Use of Guides

“…travel to Alaska, employment of a guide and time off work; Schmidt et al 2005). Therefore, the goals of those individuals may be similar to trophy hunters' who commonly select animals to harvest based on antler size (Stewart 1985, Snepenger & Bowyer 1990, Hartl et al 2003). Because larger‐antlered moose occur in areas with low density (see Table 1), guides would be expected to satisfy the aspirations of their clients by hunting in such areas.…”

“…The motivation and satisfaction that individuals obtain from hunting are diverse, including those derived from subsistence, recreation, mentoring, economics and trophy harvest (Hendee 1974, Ericsson et al 2000, Heberlein & Kuentzel 2002, Frey et al 2003). Sport hunting contributes significantly to the Alaskan economy providing both employment and revenue (Snepenger & Bowyer 1990, Albert et al 2001). In particular, employment of a guide can be financially costly and is not required by law for moose hunting in Alaska; therefore, hunters typically expect guides to satisfy their goals.…”

Promoting hunting tourism in north Sweden: opinions of local hunters

“…The region has a declining depopulation and an aging populace despite support from governmental undertakings at different levels (Wiberg 2005). Natural resources are obvious assets for tourism and regional development in the region but, although several regional tourist programs have been initiated, it has not been able to counteract negative development (Lundmark 2006) Wildlife is associated with significant consumptive and recreational values (Swanson et al 1989;Snepenger and Bowyer 1990;Mattsson 1990;Rockel and Kealy 1991;Condon and Adamowicz 1995;Reid 1999) which can be realized through consumptive harvest or recreational tourism. In Canada, hunter tourists contributed about $30 million (US) in direct revenue in 1994 (MacKay and Campbell 2004).…”

Colonization history and taxonomy of moose Alces alces in southeastern Alaska inferred from mtDNA variation

“…Irrespective of which race of moose occurs in southeastern Alaska, these large mammals are important for recreational and subsistence hunting (Timmermann & Buss 1998), as well as a valuable resource for the tourism industry (Snepenger & Bowyer 1990). Effective management of moose requires that sufficient numbers of mature bulls be present in the population to ensure a high likelihood of females conceiving during their first oestrus (Timmermann & Buss 1998).…”