Abstract

This book critically examines the many ways in which tourism and animals intersect, whether as tourist attractions, wildlife conservation tools, as travel companions or as meat to be eaten. It aims to make a meaningful contribution to the growing body of knowledge concerning the relationships between animals, tourists and the tourism industry. The chapters are organised into three themes: ethics and welfare; conflict, contradiction and contestation; and shifting relationships. Theoretically informed and empirically rich, the chapters examine topics such as whale watching, animal performances, the objectification and commodification of animals and stakeholder conflict among a range of others. It is hoped that the book will help to highlight key research questions and stimulate other researchers and students to reflect critically on the place of animals within tourism spaces, experiences, practices and structures.  

The book has much to offer students of tourism, leisure studies, ethics, and human: animal studies. The chapters on ethics in particular offer sound starts for undergraduate and postgraduate students considering the ethics of tourism and of human: animal relations. There is also a broader audience across academia and in the informed general public(...) I recommend this book to all these potential readers as accessible, easy to dip into where interested, but also offering a sound progression of ideas and analysis.

This important and timely anthology addresses many of the practical and ethical implications of making other animals the subject of our holiday activities. With essays on everything from the most common forms of animal tourism (whale-watching, dolphin tourism, bird watching) to the less well-known (entomotourism, helicopter hunting, meat-tourism), this book will offer the animals studies scholar, conservationist or animal lover much to think about.

For academics, activists, policy officials, and the concerned public eager to delve beneath the surface of the popular press banter, this book provides an eclectic set of deeper policy and cultural issues to consider. (It) offers an excellent introduction to these issues as they stand right now, and an invitation for the reader to consider how to become part of the solution.

Kevin Markwell is Associate Professor at the School of Business and Tourism, Southern Cross University, Australia. His research focuses on human-animal studies, tourist-nature relationships, wildlife tourism and gay tourism.

From the ethics of helicopter hunting and the roles of pets in RV parks to the growth of insect-based tourism, Animals and Tourism: Understanding Diverse Relationships offers a unique and fascinating window into the recreational use – and misuse – of the creatures we share our world with.