Sustainable Wildlife Tourism

This book advocates transitioning from a conventional to a sustainable wildlife tourism paradigm by adopting principles of sustainable development, providing a detailed concept and procedure for integrating the different concepts and approaches to sustainable tourism, with a focus on the frequently overlooked link between conventional and sustainable tourism. It emphasizes the advancement of sustainable tourism in wildlife tourism at both the attraction and destination levels. Based on the theoretical implications, the book adds to the existing knowledge of sustainable tourism development by providing a framework for a better understanding and integration of conventional and responsible medical tourism. It supports the argument that implementing sustainable development principles is one of the key solutions for reducing or eliminating related impacts from wildlife tourism.

Moreover, this book addresses the unsustainability problem of wildlife tourism by suggesting the adoption of guiding principles of responsible tourism, which are bottom-line strategies for the implementation of sustainable wildlife tourism. However, the adoption of sustainable tourism comes with certain expenses and requirements. It may necessitate that the destinations undergo fundamental changes in their existing legal and policy frameworks. Furthermore, this book has practical and theoretical implications for academics, wildlife and tourism professionals, students, policymakers, and wildlife tourists with or without sufficient background in wildlife tourism, as it initially introduces the readers to the basic concepts of wildlife tourism, responsible tourism, and sustainable tourism. It also explores the various dimensions of traditional wildlife tourism, their impacts, and challenges.