Sea turtles as a non-consumptive tourism resource especially in Australia

There is substantial economic potential for exploiting wildlife resources f or non-consumptive wildlife-oriented recreation (NCWOR) tourism and this ty pe of tourism if well managed, can result in the long-term conservation of wildlife resources. This is especially important in cases where wildlife re sources are declining due to habitat destruction, poaching and other human threats, as is so for sea turtles. In this paper, relevant ecotourism liter ature outlining the economic values of NCWOR activities is reviewed to show that a significant potential exists for developing sea turtle-based touris m. Duffus and Dearden's (1990. Biological Conservation, 53, 213-231) concep tual framework for the development of wildlife tourism and its extension an d application by Higham (1998. Tourism Management, 19 (6), 521-531) is anal ysed to see if it might be applied to sea turtle-based ecotourism in Austra lia at Mon Repos Conservation Park. Threats to sea turtle populations are g rowing especially as a result of human activities and these underline the i mportance of finding an economic rationale to conserve the remaining specie s. Economic benefits from turtle-based tourism can provide such a rationale . However, such tourism must be managed appropriately if it is to be sustai ned. Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service has adopted management strategie s at Mon Repos Conservation Park with this in mind and these strategies are outlined. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.