The incidental ecotourist: measuring visitor impacts on endangered howler monkeys at a Belizean archaeological site

Abstract

Conservationists are missing opportunities to protect species at mass tourism sites where wildlife itself is not the main tourist attraction. At such locations are ‘incidental ecotourists’, i.e. tourists with multiple interests who encounter wildlife or fragile ecosystems inadvertently. A case study from Lamanai Archaeological Reserve, Belize, reveals the motivations of incidental ecotourists and their impact on an endangered primate species, the black howler monkey, Alouatta pigra. Four hundred and seventy-one visitors were surveyed to assess their travel goals, conservation commitments, and reactions to viewing howler monkeys. Data were also collected on the behaviour of tourists and monkeys during encounters. More intense tourist interactions with howler monkeys were correlated with the number of tourists and the duration of the encounter; guided parties interacted more intensely than unguided parties. Tourists were largely unaware that these interactions may harm the howler monkeys. Qualitative observations of howler response to tourists suggest short- and long-term negative impacts. These impacts could be mitigated through more effective guide training, limiting tourist group size, and increasing entrance fees at the Reserve. Improving environmental education may reduce impacts and motivate some tourists to become advocates for conservation of endangered species.

Bear viewing in the K'tzim-a-deen inlet: Effects on grizzly bear behaviour and visitor perceptions of impact.

“…Similarly high levels of satisfaction have been recorded at other wildlife viewing destinations in New Zealand (Schanzel & Mcintosh, 2000), Australia (Orams, 2000;Valentine et al, 2004), and Belize (Grossberg et al, 2003). General measures of satisfaction typically receive uniformly high ratings (Herrick & McDonald, 1992), so these results are not surprising.…”

“…In Finland most people perceived a low negative impact of fishing on Saimaa ringed seals, even though local biologists considered the species at risk due in part to hunting and fishing (Tonder & Jurvelius, 2004). Similar results were found in Belize where only 18% of tourists who witnessed negative interactions with howler monkeys perceived them as being harmful (Grossberg et al, 2003). Low incidence of statements regarding tourism's negative impacts may be related to perceptions of wellrun trips with good environmental management (Cessford & Dingwall, 1994) Other research has demonstrated an inverse relationship between tourist level of education and perceptions of impact (Deng et al, 2003, Grossberg et al, 2003).…”

Tourists and turtles: Searching for a balance in Tortuguero, Costa Rica

“…This questioning includes investigating exaggerated claims about ecotourism, and interrogating assumptions made about ecotourists (Shepherd 2002;Butcher 2003;Grossberg et al 2003). There is also a greater realisation that ecotourists are complex individuals who often defy tourist typologies, and have various motivations and interests, and are of different behaviour types (McMinn & Cater 1998).…”

“…Mixed-methods surveying is common in tourist perception studies; surveys typically include closed questions about demographics, and less structured questions about motivations, expectations and perceptions, related likes/dislikes and reasons for them (examples: Hvenegaard & Dearden 1998;Gnoth 1999;Farrell & Marion 2001;Hillery et al 2001;da Silva 2002;Grossberg, Treves et al 2003;Luck 2003;Kuvan & Akan 2005;Mohsin 2005). …”

“…Therefore, according to these two studies, the focus is primarily on SEEING animals, plants, and other sights in Tortuguero rather than learning about them. While respondents in both samples do comment on information provision, such comments appear in a small fraction of surveys and do not dominate tourist responses-contributing to the view of Tortuguero's turtles as charismatic lures for 'sight seeking' ecotourists, again suggesting 'softer ecotourists' and adding to the debate about how much 'ecotourists' really want to be educated while on wildlife tours (Ryan et al 2000;Grossberg, Treves et al 2003;Luck 2003;Wilson & Tisdell 2003). How well and how often respondents see turtles seems to be a primary determinant of overall satisfaction, although more research would be needed to determine exactly what role it plays in post-visit word-of-mouth recommendations (of particular importance for the TNP, the CCC and the ecotourism industry).…”