Wildlife tourism in China: a review of the Chinese research literature

Abstract

China is rich in wildlife resources but no comprehensive review of the research literature in relation to the nexus between wildlife and tourism interests in China has been completed. This review considers research undertaken on both consumptive and non-consumptive wildlife tourism, and shows that wildlife tourism has gained much attention in China recently. A data set was created recording attributes including authors, article titles, publication years and sources, keywords and abstracts. A more detailed analysis of the research topics, methodologies and research regions was conducted and this was accompanied by recourse to the full texts to more fully identify key findings. The research has a predominant focus on captive, semi-captive and tourism experiences in the wild, with the giant panda and bird-watching as key subjects. Research articles have been published in a range of journals but only about 32% of these are considered as key journals in China. The analysis demonstrates a rising interest in wildlife tourism. Although topics include the development of wildlife tourism, studies of visitor attitudes, analysis of visitor impacts on destinations and aspects of environmental education for tourists, this research is in its infancy and there is scope for a comprehensive and extended wildlife tourism research agenda.