Eco-adventure tourism one of the world’s fastest-growing industries
BY KEVIN J. SMITH, TIMES COLONIST SEPTEMBER 29, 2012
For a moment, I want you to put aside your feelings around trophy hunting of bears. (That is, killing bears for recreation, not for food.) Instead, I want you to think about the business case.
In 2012, is a bear worth more living or shot dead?
Eco-adventure tourism is one of the fastest-growing sectors of the world’s travel economy. The B.C. government has identified it as a pillar of the province’s tourism strategy. In 2010, the estimated the world adventure travel market was $89 billion, with 10 per cent growth per year…
Anecdotes suggest there is more demand than capacity.
Contrast this with the steady decline in interest in hunting in North America, and declining support for killing bears for sport. When was the last time you met anybody that was planning a trophy-hunting holiday? What about someone buying a new camera for a trip that included wild life viewing?
Why not keep the hunt and bear-viewing?
First, where bears are shot, bear-viewing is bad, because the bears hide. No bear-viewing business can prosper there, because – like all businesses – tourism needs a degree of certainty to survive.
In contrast, when Raincoast Conservation Foundation bought a guide-outfitter territory, and the government enacted a couple of “management” areas, thereby ended the killing of grizzlies in those areas, we saw a resurgence in visible grizzly bears. Suddenly, many businesses could plan for bear-viewing there…
To read the full article please visit the Victoria Times Colonist website.
Tags: eco-tourism, grizzly bear conservation, grizzly hunting, trophy hunting of grizzlies
Hello
Appreciations…great article. And thank you. I spent many years working in National Parks and although I realize the bears would probably rather be totally left alone tourists shooting off their cameras are much preferable to guns.
Perhaps your point-of-view can be further supported by local and also BC demographics. I live in the “oldest” town in Canada Qualicum Beach. And never in history has it been more evident that for this era a large percentage of our ageing/retired population hav the funds and the inspiration to in be tourists on their own coastal wonderland. I have spoken with many who have great tales spun with reverance and enthusiasm after bear viewing trips…
Trophy hunting should be stopped!
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/trophyhunt/sign.html
If you agree, you can sign on.