Jurassic World as a contemporary wildlife tourism theme park allegory

Abstract

The movie Jurassic World provides insights into actual and potential future wildlife tourism theme parks and the associated visitor expectations. Movies can function as allegories that influence or reinforce public expectations through representation of certain themes. This letter considers how Jurassic World represents wildlife tourism. We highlight themes regarding extensive tourism infrastructure development; the human desire for close interaction with, and feeding of, wildlife; and the exhibition of rare, large, and dangerous animals as novel and exciting experiences. We note the desire for thrill and excitement can encourage poor consideration for the welfare of wildlife and the natural environment. We raise concerns regarding the influence movies such as Jurassic World may have on expectations for wildlife tourism theme parks and that such expectations need to be addressed and managed in the future.

Keywords:

• representation of tourism
• tourism experience
• tourism development
• visitor expectations
• current issues in tourism

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.