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Multinational hotel companies operate accommodation facilities in naturebased tourism destinations of many developing countries. This paper uses the sustainable tourism framework to examine the relationship between the hotel industry and the wildlife‐based tourism in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. The paper further examines the socio‐economic and environmental impacts of the hotel industry in the Delta. Through the use of primary and secondary data sources, results indicate that the hotel tourism industry in the Okavango Delta is lucrative. The industry relies on multinational hotel tourism companies originating from rich countries and South Africa. Hotels and lodges in Delta offer game drives, walking safaris, boating, accommodation and restaurant services. Its socio‐economic impacts include employment, income and infrastructure development. Negative impacts are: revenue leakages, poor jobs for citizens and the failure to alleviate rural poverty. Sustainable tourism approaches which include citizen participation in tourism can reduce the negative impacts of the hotel industry.

Zimbabwean tourism, whose draw-card is wildlife, has been on the decline since land invasions that occurred in 2000. Due to the farm invasions, wildlife-based tourism is no longer a viable option. In cases where traditional industries are declining, cultural tourism has been found to be an effective alternative source of revenue. Cultural and heritage tourism represents a growing special interest market whose demand is very high; however, this sector is yet to be sufficiently explored in the empirical context of Northern Zimbabwe. The purpose of this paper is to explore the development potential of the sector.

A quantitative methodology was applied in this study. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire that was distributed to 500 international tourists who visited Northern Zimbabwe’s cultural and heritage attractions between October 2013 and February 2014. Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 19.0 was employed in data coding and analysis. Descriptive statistics, independent t-tests and one way analysis of variance were used in this study.

On the whole, the study found that there is potential to develop cultural tourism as an alternative for tourism growth in Northern Zimbabwe. Results showed that there exists a certain demand for cultural and heritage tourism in Northern Zimbabwe and should be developed. Cultural and heritage tourists’ spending is high per visit, despite the fact that Zimbabwe is an expensive destination. The intention to repeat visitation was found to be significant with the age, level of qualification and nationality of respondents.

The findings provides insights for cultural and heritage tourism managers in Northern Zimbabwe and similar places around the country to invest in this special interest tourism. The development of cultural and heritage tourism will contribute towards the diversification of the seasonal and threatened nature-based tourism in Zimbabwe. With a better understanding of the motivations, trip behaviour characteristics and perceptions of Northern region, this paper presents insights that are important in developing the cultural and heritage tourism sector. Research on tourism growth in Zimbabwe has predominantly focused on nature-based tourism, suggesting a clear relegation of the contribution that cultural and heritage resources can make towards tourism growth; thus, this study provides a significant contribution in the Zimbabwean context with regards to literature.

Reviews articles published in three Asia Pacific‐based tourism journals: the Journal of Tourism Studies, Tourism Recreation Research and the Asia Pacific Journal of Tourism Research. Identifies five tourism themes relating to articles published over an eight year period from 1989‐1996. These are: tourist markets, tourist flows, tourism development, sustainable tourism development and social, economic and cultural impacts of tourism.

This paper aims to synthesize the key findings of prior research on the topic of human-wildlife interactions (HWI) in natural places for tourism.

The methodology of systematic review was used to search for, appraise and analyze the relevant research evidence. A total of 47 English-language academic journal articles, published between 2003 and 2018, with free online access to full texts in the database of Hospitality and Tourism Complete have been reviewed. Thematic analysis was adopted to synthesize the textual data.

The reviewed articles cover a wide geographical spread, diverse wildlife species and interaction types, and various research focuses including ecological impacts, human dimensions and management issues of wildlife tourism. The interactions between wildlife and human systems in the context of tourism constitute a complicated social-ecological system, in which both the humans and animals can be affected positively and negatively. Management and scientific research provide the nexus between the ecological and human dimensions of wildlife tourism. While opportunities for sustainable development abound, challenges are not to be neglected.

Due to the complexity of wildlife encounters for tourist purposes, the extant literature indicates a diverse and fragmented view from which integrated implications are difficult to obtain. This paper presents the first overarching review in English of the literature on human-wildlife interactions for tourism and provides a big picture understanding of what has been and what is needed to be done in terms of both wildlife tourism research and practices.

This study investigates the relationships of visitors’ recreational experiences and their future behavior for the wildlife destinations of Assam, a North-Eastern state of India.

Recreational experiences have been measured through the visitors’ perceptions on various destination characteristics. The future behavior of the visitors is measured by considering two indicators in the forms of revisit and recommendation to others. Primary data, collected from two wildlife destinations have been analyzed by using structural equation modeling technique.

The empirical results have revealed the influence of destination characteristics on visitors’ future behavior, where perceptions mediate the relationship.

The findings suggest the adoption of policies to create positive perceptions on destination attributes and product oriented promotional strategies toward making wildlife destinations more competitive. The study also provides implications for tourism literature by suggesting an integrative approach for better understanding of tourists’ future behavior.

The study is based on primary data collected from two wildlife destinations of Assam. The investigation will help to adopt policies to make wildlife destinations more competitive.

There are a large number of destinations in which post-conflict tourism (PCT) might be a relevant development option. This chapter considers four destinations which have opted to use the PCT brand as part of their strategies to attract tourists. These destinations – Cambodia, Nicaragua, Rwanda and Bougainville (within the country of Papua New Guinea) – are on four different continents, had conflicts which ended in the last decade of the twentieth century and represent tourism industries at different stages of development. They were also chosen because they are at low or medium levels of development and have relatively small populations of less than 20 million people. The chapter considers the different ways in which PCT is or might be used not only to provide economic opportunities for local residents, but also as a means towards reconciliation, healing and recovery after conflicts which have resulted in many casualties and divided the people against each other. Each of the case study destinations have attempted to turn a negative aspect of their histories into an opportunity for development, with differing levels of success.

This chapter evaluates the impacts of and response measures to COVID-19 pandemic on the practice of tourism in the wildlife conservancy model in Kenya thus proposing response interventions to possible tourism crises in the future.

The study uses the qualitative exploratory experience design and collects data from purposely selected conservancies' leaders and other documented materials from two main wildlife conservancies association in Kenya.

The chapter presents findings on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on wildlife conservancy-based tourism, how conservancies responded to the pandemic and conservancy leadership perspectives on how to model future tourism and related activities in the conservancies based on the lessons they have learnt from the COVID-19 experience.

With the wildlife conservancy-based tourism model in Kenya being a relatively new phenomenon, the study provides important lessons for comparison with other such initiatives in other places in the event of tourism crises in the future.

This chapter argues that better preparedness to crises and uncertainties by various tourism types and models can help mitigate against adverse effects of similar uncertainties in the future. Consequently, the findings offer a glimpse of proposals and solutions to the wildlife conservancy-based tourism models that continue to be established in Kenya and in the region.

Tourism is sometimes described as a worthwhile activity for a developing economy. Among countries of emergent Africa, for example, Kenya derives a significant portion of its national economic advancement from tourism. But cogent socio‐economic arguments modify the general proposition for Kenya, as for several other developing countries. If these reservations are accorded proper attention, the tourist may yet prove the unwitting agent for development. If, however, the cost‐benefit construct is not adjusted to take account of these further factors, tourism in emergent Africa may end up by the way it is going in the Caribbean and several other parts of the Third World: a source of economic, cultural, social and ultimately political friction.

This study examines experiences and enjoyment of national parks in the context of Tanzania.

A cross-sectional design with quantitative and qualitative methods is applied. The study area is Nyerere National Park in Tanzania. Data collected from fully completed structured questionnaires by 360 domestic tourists are subjected to descriptive statistics and Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling analysis. Content analysis is used to analyze qualitative data.

The findings have revealed that there is a significant relationship between direct experiences and enjoyment of southern national parks among domestic tourists.

The suggestion is for future studies to explore a longitudinal approach to determine the patterns of domestic tourists in reference to experiences and enjoyment of national parks so as to improve domestic tourism.

The practical implication is for the government, private sector and tourism stakeholders to improve infrastructure and conduct regular surveys and tour guide training.

This study examines experiences and enjoyment of national parks in the context of Tanzania and, specifically analyzes the relationship between direct experiences and enjoyment of southern national parks among domestic tourists in Tanzania guided by types of tourists’ theory.

Ecotourism has emerged as a new hope of the tourism sector and is expected to overcome past pitfalls of mass tourism. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to assess the potentials and challenges of ecotourism development in the historic and sacred sites of North Shewa Zone, Ethiopia.

Data were collected through interview, household questionnaire, field observation and focused group discussion. The collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 23) and Excel.

Based on household’s perception, churches and monasteries were mentioned as the main (17.58%) ecotourism attractions that have crucial role in ecotourism development in the area followed by biodiversity resources (17.23%) and Holy Water (16.01%). These existing ecotourism potentials and opportunities were discussed on the basis of five dimensions, i.e. historical and sacred attractions, biological attractions, cultural attractions, infrastructures and institutional potentials. The mean score values of a five-point Likert scale level of agreement or disagreement of respondents were between 2 and 4.5, implying overall responses of respondents spread between agree and strongly agree.

The findings reveal that although the historic and sacred sites of the area have potential ecotourism opportunities, different anthropogenic activities are affecting its development. The researchers recommended awareness creation programs, promotion of sites, development of infrastructures, employments of well-trained professionals and allocation of sufficient budgets as a mechanism to use the ecotourism potential and solving the existing challenges.