Animal encounters as experiences : Animal-based tourism in the travel magazine Matkalehti

The study is on the human dimension of animal-based tourism. There is a growing interest in nature and wildlife tourism but also a dire need for more research, especially of tourist experiences and expectations. Animal-based tourism is a little studied subject and a rarely used term. Animal-based tourism, unlike wildlife tourism, includes the use of domesticated animals and also other types of encounters than watching. Wildlife, nature and adventure tourism literature is used for defining animal-based tourism. Experiencing is another substantial sector of tourism business nowadays, alongside nature and wildlife tourism. Instead of services and products, the tourists are seeking experiences. Experience is a complex and diverse concept that is comprised of many different elements. The main object of the study is to understand the phenomenon of animal-based tourism, to interpret the experiences animal-based tourism creates and the elements in the animal encounters that contribute to creating them. The study draws from humanistic geography and uses the hermeneutic understanding of the world in the interpretation of tourists' experiences. Travel magazine Matkalehti's destination descriptions and travel stories are used as data. The research includes altogether 419 different articles in 111 magazines over 16 years of time. The articles are studied with content analysis, by looking for the typical characteristics of animal-based tourism (presented in the background chapter) and finding the various experiences and the elements that cause them (defined in the theoretical framework). The study is deductive, leaning strongly on the experience theories and frameworks presented in animal-based tourism literature. It was found that the animal-based tourism presented in the magazines was quite substantial and it reflected the definitions presented in the tourism literature. However, some variations were found: riding as an encounter had a far greater role than was expected. In Finland, alongside fishing, it was almost as important as watching animals. Abroad, watching was clearly the most popular encounter type. The destinations of animal-based tourism in the magazines varied greatly and they reflected the destinations typically of importance for Finns. However, clear focus points were seen. For example safaris (on land) typically took place in Sub-Saharan Africa, and whales and dolphins were watched in Iceland, Norway, Canary islands and the Azores, etc. Animals were encountered in many different settings but between captive- and wild-settings there was not a big difference, both occurred equally often. Captive-settings were usually located near cities or available areas for attracting bigger user groups, when wild-settings demanded more effort from the tourists. Species of animals reflected the findings in similar studies, and it was noticed that specific types of animals were preferred over others. Watching animals in captive-settings and in shows did not seem to evoke as many or as strong experiences as meeting them in the wild. Rare and endangered species as well as exotic and strange ones were preferred over others almost in every case. Some species were found to be icons for certain areas and were always mentioned with the same destinations. With certain species like dolphins, close interaction was sought after, and domesticated animals were found interesting only if there was a chance for touching and feeding them. Especially in fishing, riding and diving the settings and the beauty of the surroundings were important, but also the intensity of the activity. Education and conservation, which are a part of animal-based tourism according to literature, were not mentioned as often as was expected. The naturalness of the settings, the well-being of animals and the engaging nature of the encounters were the most crucial elements for creating experiences in animal-based tourism. Experiences of animal-based tourism were multiple as were the elements creating them.