In the absence of a main attraction – Perspectives from polar bear watching tourism participants

The wildlife watching experiencescape: the case of musk ox safaris at Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella National Park, Norway

“…The chance to encounter other wildlife, besides the target species, was also considered a possible factor affecting the participants' experiences and therefore included in our model. This was based on a previous study about polar bear tourism where seeing other animals had a positive effect on the feedback from participants in the absence of the focal species (Dybsand, 2020).…”

“…For guiding in natural surroundings, two additional factors have been suggested: motivation which involves managing tourists' behavior and impacts on-site and environmental interpretation which involves improving tourists' environmental behavior in the long term (Randall & Rollins, 2009;Weiler & Davis, 1993). All six components are present also in wildlife watching tourism (Dybsand, 2020).…”

“…In U.S.A., wild horse tourism is becoming popular in South Dakota, Nevada, Wyoming, Montana and New Mexico (Notzke, 2014). In Scandinavia, moose watching, both at designated "moose farms" and in the wild, is gaining popularity (Brandin, 2009), and in the arctic, polar bear tourism is increasing (Dybsand, 2020;Fefer et al, 2020;Lemelin & Dyck, 2008).…”

“…If managed incorrectly, wildlife watching tourism can have negative impacts on wildlife, such as alterations of natural behavior, habituation, food conditioning, crowding, stress, contamination, relocation or displacement, habitat degradation and in some cases local extinction (Green & Giese, 2004). Finding a good balance between participants' expectations and a sustainable use of the resource is challenging due to the unpredictable nature of wild animals (Dybsand, 2020;Margaryan & Wall-Reinius, 2017). A strategy to fulfil participants' expectations can be to focus on other aspects of the wildlife watching experience, such as: high quality guiding including interpretation and storytelling, or supplementary activities with less uncertainty involved (Dybsand, 2020;Margaryan & Wall-Reinius, 2017).…”

“…Finding a good balance between participants' expectations and a sustainable use of the resource is challenging due to the unpredictable nature of wild animals (Dybsand, 2020;Margaryan & Wall-Reinius, 2017). A strategy to fulfil participants' expectations can be to focus on other aspects of the wildlife watching experience, such as: high quality guiding including interpretation and storytelling, or supplementary activities with less uncertainty involved (Dybsand, 2020;Margaryan & Wall-Reinius, 2017). Understanding how these aspects contribute to participants' overall wildlife watching experiences can contribute to product development and participant satisfaction.…”