“Wait” to promote high sighting rates of wildlife in tourism: evidence from a wildlife disturbance experiment

Abstract

ABSTRACT Ecotourism is often seen as beneficial for both people and nature, but unregulated wildlife tourism can harm wildlife. To improve management practices, we studied rabbit tourism involving Amami rabbits (Pentalagus furnessi) at a Natural World Heritage Site in Japan. The study aimed to determine the sighting rates of wildlife under different car schedules and density scenarios. Using wildlife disturbance experiments and model simulations, we estimated the recovery rate of rabbits after being disturbed by tourists. Our findings revealed that a 20-minute time lag between cars resulted in a 90% recovery rate for the rabbits. Additionally, a regular car schedule increased rabbit sighting rates by approximately 1.85 times compared to random schedules and 2.4 times compared to normal schedules under optimal conditions (maximum density and 50 cars). We also evaluated the profitability of tourism under different rabbit densities and money-back guarantee (MBG) rates. While introducing more cars increased profits, it decreased rabbit sighting rates and increased the likelihood of activating the MBG. In conclusion, our study showed that considering both animal behavior and human interests in developing a tourism management system can balance profitability and minimize the impact of overutilization.