Approach For Advancing The Management Of Marine Wildlife Tourism

This study examined tourist preferences for wildlife management at a stingray-feeding attraction in the Cayman Islands, finding that 68% of respondents preferred fairly strict management rules, while the others preferred the status quo, which allows for more extensive human-wildlife interaction.

Wildlife tourism is subject to conflicting concerns including the promotion of visitor satisfaction versus the preservation of ecological integrity. This survey of visitors to Stingray City in the Cayman Islands found that both the pro-management group and the pro-current group expressed a preference for the continued ability for visitors to feed and handle the stingrays, although to varying degrees.

Based on this these results, the authors suggest that an effective way to implement management actions is by altering the promotion and marketing strategies of Stingray City.