Public understanding of wildlife tourism: defining terms, harms, and benefits

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ABSTRACT An online survey of the American public (n = 500) was used to explore perceptions of the effects of tourism on wildlife and definitions of key tourism terms. Results show that the public’s assessment of the impacts of tourism are relatively nuanced and reflective of trade-offs discussed in the literature, and that there is broad recognition of the potential for wildlife to experience both harms and benefits resulting from tourism. We also collected data about how the American public defines key terms associated with wildlife tourism, including ecotourism, sustainable tourism, and nature tourism. Findings indicate that definitions of these terms are not well understood by the public, and that the specific criteria which typically define ecotourism in the academic literature are not widely known or recognized. This suggests there may be inherent limitations to the use of ecotourism terminology in driving responsible consumer behavior and positive conservation outcomes.