Why are some animals popular with wildlife tourists: insights from South Africa

Wildlife tourism is an important type of ecotourism including in South Africa. We considered how the aesthetic value theory can be applied to wildlife tourism by assessing the relative popularity of species with tourists in South Africa and which traits predicted popularity. When data from six published visitor surveys across seven protected areas were combined, we found that only 26 species out of 299 mammals and 850 + birds were selected by 2245 tourists. Elephant (48%), black and white rhinos (36%), lion (36%), cheetah (35%) and giraffe (34%) were the most popular in these visitor surveys with similar results reported in data from destination marketing and social media, but not wildlife auctions. When 13 species traits were assessed using ordinations and Generalised Linear Models, traits associated with specific aesthetics were important as large mammals that use open vegetation, with highly contrasting coat colours and/or are fluffy were most popular. Given the diversity of animals in South Africa, those responsible for wildlife tourism opportunities could diversify the types of species used in marketing to better match animals likely to be encountered in the wild, enhancing repeat visitor experiences while promoting the conservation of more species in the region.