Animatronic dolphins as the new authentic? posthuman reflections of ‘light’ tourism on the move

ABSTRACT

Marine parks have successfully positioned themselves as harbingers of ‘once in a lifetime’ experiences for visitors motivated to get close, embodied experiences with dolphins and other cetaceans. Captive animal venues have amplified these experiences by expanding their programs to include ‘fake’ encounters with robotic (animatronic) animals as well as conventional wild encounters. This study sought to investigate the choices of university students on the opportunity to experience either a live swim-with-dolphin tour or an animatronic tour, and if their choices remained stable or changed after an intervention. Results indicate that the intervention strategy significantly impacted students’ choices, inducing them to later choose the animatronic dolphin experience. The paper tests our conceptions about what is real and artificial in charting a path for the future of responsible and sustainable tourism.

KEYWORDS:

• Animatronics
• dolphins
• animal ethics
• tourism
• posthumanism
• light tourism

Disclosure statement

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