Tourism, Security and Safety From Theory to Practice

Learning Objectives
■
To have an understanding of the different types of risk to tourist safety associ-
ated with wildlife encounters.
■
To be able to list the core factors associated with wildlife attacks on 
tourists.
■
To understand the similarities with, and differences between, negative wildlife
encounters, and other tourist safety issues.
■
To be able to describe the variables that influence tourists’ risk perceptions of
wildlife encounters.
■
To be able to use the five main factors that contribute to the risks associated
with wildlife encounters to develop management options.
Introduction
While much has been written about the attractiveness of wildlife encounters for
tourists to nature-based destinations and the need to manage the negative impacts
of the tourists on the wildlife, very little has been published in the academic liter-
ature on how to manage the negative impacts of the wildlife on the tourists. This
chapter will explore the potential impacts of wildlife on tourist safety, as well as
on tourists’ perceptions of destination attractiveness and travel choice behaviors.
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The chapter will describe key results from two recent studies conducted by the
authors. The first was a critical incidents study of worst wildlife tourism experi-
ences that generated a substantial number of incidents in which tourists reported
being threatened or physically harmed by wildlife. These incidents included
encounters from many different places and the results will be placed in an inter-
national context in order to understand the extent and nature of this type of threat
to tourist safety. The second study is a survey of visitors to the North Queensland
region of Australia that explored tourists’ perceptions of the risks associated with
different wildlife in the region and the impact these risk perceptions had on their
travel behaviors within the region. The chapter will then conclude with implica-
tions for the management of destinations with potentially threatening wildlife
populations.