Sustainable dolphin watching tours as a tool to increase public awareness of marine conservation – a comparative analysis between two Mediterranean destinations and implications for management

ABSTRACT

Dolphin watching is growing fast along the Mediterranean coasts, without an equivalent effort for its management. Whale and dolphin watching has been promoted as ecotourism with conservation benefits. However, only a few studies have investigated the potential of these tours to change the awareness of the participants and improve their pro-conservation sentiments. In the present study, the motivation, interest, knowledge, expectations and satisfaction of the dolphin watchers were evaluated in two sites (Sardinia and Lošinj). The aim was to better address management strategies of dolphin watching in the Mediterranean Sea. Based on the questionnaires filled by the participants, the dolphin watchers in both destinations showed a generally high environmental awareness and sense of responsibility towards marine conservation. Moreover, awareness and responsibility increased after the experience. The results reveal that a carefully planned education would maximise the pro-environmental effects of the tours and minimise the impact on the target species.

KEYWORDS:

• Dolphin watching management
• marine conservation
• tourist perceptions
• customer satisfaction
• wildlife tourism

Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank all the volunteers and students for their assistance and help in the fieldwork. P.M. is supported by the EU LIFE Euroturtles project and National Foundation for Civil Society Development of the Republic of Croatia. Special thanks to one anonymous referee for fine-tuning the English.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

P.M. is supported by the EU LIFE Euroturtles project and National Foundation for Civil Society Development of the Republic of Croatia.