Wildlife tourism through the co-creation lens

ABSTRACT

This study reflects on the conceptualisation of wild animals as co-creators. Its purpose is to encourage reflection about the role of animals in wildlife tourism. Therefore, to this end – and in the belief that diversity and creativity are important elements in critical thinking – the study was developed by a research team with diverse professional backgrounds. It adopts a fictional methodological approach, employing a fictive dialogue between a tourist joining a swim-with-dolphins tour and a dolphin and draws upon recent scholarly contributions on animals from the perspective of various disciplines, including philosophy, biology and tourism, The study’s most important contribution comes in the form of a discussion of the co-creation concept from a critical perspective, based on innovative and explicitly-described ontological, epistemological and methodological considerations.

KEYWORDS:

• Co-creation
• wildlife tourism
• experiential value
• ecofeminism
• CAP

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Giovanna Bertella is Associate Professor at the School of Business and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø (Norway). The theoretical perspectives adopted in her studies include: management (knowledge and collaboration), marketing (experiential marketing, consumer culture theory), entrepreneurship/innovation (practice-based and institutional theory). Her research interests focus on: Tourism and Leisure studies, Food studies and Futures studies.

Maddalena Fumagalli is a biologist. Her research focuses on wild dolphin behaviour and responses to human interactions, with the aim to inform best practices in dolphin-based tourism. Maddalena has been involved in research and outreach activities in Egypt since 2005. She collaborates with Tethys Research Institute and the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA).

Vanessa Williams-Grey is policy manager at WDC, Whale and Dolphin Conservation. She has worked extensively to encourage responsible whale watching. Vanessa has helped to develop regulations, led whale watching trips and organised workshops for operators in regions as diverse as Sri Lanka, Iceland and Australia. She is currently contributing to research on the impact of commercial swim/dive tours upon targeted cetaceans.

ORCID

Giovanna Bertella http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5530-8588

M. Fumagalli http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2954-5736