Modelling travellers’ philanthropy: tourists’ motivations to donate at Sweetwater Chimpanzee Sanctuary

Abstract

Parks and protected areas are often charged with addressing pressing conservation issues, but frequently face financial constraints. Travellers’ philanthropy is recognised as one form of ecotourism that can increase funding for conservation efforts, such as biodiversity preservation, within protected areas. While recent research has enumerated various factors that influence on-site donations in travellers’ philanthropy programmes, the strength of and relationships between these factors (e.g. messaging, trust, and caring) in influencing donation behaviour have not been studied. This exploratory mixed-methods study investigated factors influencing tourists’ motivations to donate to travellers’ philanthropy programmes, specifically at Sweetwater Chimpanzee Sanctuary in Kenya. Researchers examined the relationships between on-site messaging, trust in an organisation, feelings of caring for chimpanzees, on-site donation behaviour, and intentions to donate in the future. Results indicate that not all factors have equal influence on donation behaviour, and certain factors led to visitors’ future donation intentions, as opposed to actual on-site donations. These findings have implications for park and sanctuary managers in diverse settings seeking to implement and assess travellers’ philanthropy programmes, as well as design effective fundraising and outreach efforts.