The 'nature dispositions' of visitors to animal encounter sites in Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

This paper analyses the results of a survey of visitors to nine animal encounter sites in Australia and New Zealand to assess whether visitors' orientations to nature are related to the extent of 'naturalness' or 'authenticity' of the animal encounter A concept of 'nature dispositions' was adapted from Bourdieu's (1984) notion of aesthetic dispositions for this purpose. Visitors' nature dispositions are not simply related to the extent to which the animal encounter is authentic or wild. Rather, tourists' attitudes also reflect the messages of the sites visited, messages embedded either in the site operators' programs or in wider social constructions of animals found there. Visitors to Antarctica and Warrawong have the highest conservation orientation, reflecting the ecotourist orientation of these sites' operators. Visitors to Monkey Mia have the highest moralistic orientation, possibly reflecting the social construction of dolphins as animals with which humans have a close affinity and Monkey Mia as a site which promotes communion with dolphins.