از فیلم برداری تا تماشا؛ حرکت به سمت تضمین کیفیت گردشگری تماشای نهنگ/دلفین در تایوان

Taiwan has shifted from harvesting whales and dolphins to protecting all cetacean species since 1990. Whales and dolphins have become major tourist attractions. With an eye on foreseeable future growth and increasing concerns about environmental impact, service delivery, and educational efficacy, the government seeks to achieve the overall quality assurance of whale/dolphin watching tourism by introducing an ecolabelling program. The aim of this study is to examine this program by analyzing its impact on tour operators and visitors. A survey method was used to assess the impact. The results showed that the program is having a positive impact on operators by seeking environmental sustainability and has brought about educational benefits for visitors, including: site-based knowledge, awareness of marine conservation and reinforcing intentions to perform environmentally responsible behaviors. However, money cost is a major factor discouraging tour operator’s participation, even though ecolabels help to construct an image of responsibility. With potential educational benefits for visitors in mind, the study highlights the need for increasing public awareness of the program, expanding marketing of ecolabelled products, and providing economic incentives for tour operators to engage in ecolabelling.

In 1982, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) introduced a moratorium on commercial whaling effective from the 1985/1986 whaling season. In 1993, the IWC adopted a first resolution on whale watching that declared its desire to encourage further development of whale watching as a sustainable use of cetacean resources [1]. These two resolutions reflect a growing societal awareness of conservation and non-consumptive use of cetacean resources. Even though the moratorium remains in force today, the debate over whaling is still fiercely contended and continues to be one of the world’s most high-profile environmental issues [2]. Compared to whaling, whale watching is much less controversial and has gained wide support from the international community largely due to its non-consumptive use of cetacean resources. This industry has grown from humble beginnings in the 1950s to become an almost universal human passion. The subjects watched include the large species of whales and the smaller species of dolphins and porpoises. In 2008, the industry has continued to grow strongly with thirteen million people participating in 119 countries and territories located at all five continents, generating a total expenditure of US$ 2.1 billion. The average growth rate of this industry is 3.7% per year, comparing well against global tourism growth of 4.2% over the same period [3]. It is argued that whale watching generates many benefits, including: providing valuable income to communities, fostering visitors’ appreciation of marine conservation, and offering a platform for researchers to study cetaceans [4]. However, while cetaceans have become popular resources for tourist use, there are increasing concerns regarding the negative impact whale watching may have on whales. The detrimental impact on the target animals could compromise the considerable economic and educational promise of whale watching tourism [5]. In addition, there is increasing understanding that to be economically and socially sustainable, tourism must also be environmentally sustainable [6]. Literature relevant to the environmental impact of whale/dolphin watching frequently mentions disturbance impact. Disturbance from the close approach of boats has been identified as a conservation concern for the cetacean population since it may alter whale behaviors. Behavioral reactions include changes in travelling direction, travelling path, travelling speed, feeding time, surfacing intervals, and displacement from the disturbance area [5], [7], [8], [9], [10] and [11]. Concern for environmental sustainability of whale/dolphin watching tourism has led to a plethora of guidelines in recent years, notably in codes of conducts [12]. Guidelines typically include restrictions on the number of boats in close proximity, boat speed limit, minimum approach distances, boat approach patterns, and allowed and non-allowed interacting patterns with whales. It stands to reason that proper management of whale/dolphin watching tourism to minimize the environmental impact is essential for the sustainable development of this industry. In addition to the aspect of environmental impact elucidated in the above literature, numerous studies in other fields examine other aspects of whale/dolphin watching. These aspects include: community-based management through ecotourism in Mexico [13], sustainability of the industry in Scotland [14], environmental education [15] and [16], and visitor motivation [17] in New Zealand, visitor expectations and experiences in Australia [18], and tradeoffs between whaling and whale watching [19], [20] and [21]. Each study contributes to a better understanding of whale/dolphin watching. These aspects are economically, socially, educationally, managerially, or environmentally related. This paper aims to add to the preceding studies by presenting the Taiwanese efforts to pursue quality assurance of whale/dolphin watching. Taiwan, as one of the world’s whale/dolphin watching spots in the West Pacific, shifted in 1990 from harvesting whales and dolphins to protecting all cetacean species. Due to a reliable aggregation of cetaceans (predominantly dolphins with some whales) found on the east coast of Taiwan and a governmental policy to promote fisheries diversification into tourism, whale/dolphin watching tourism was developed in the late 1990s. As this industry has grown, in terms of fishing boats involved and participating visitors, the government has recognized that whale/dolphin watching should be conducted in such a way that environmental sustainability will be ensured, positive visitor experience enhanced and visitors’ understanding and appreciation of the marine environment fostered in order to enhance the overall quality service of the trip; the ecolabelling program, commonly employed in tourism [22], functions as a quality assurance mechanism to satisfy these needs. The purpose of this study was to examine this program in the Taiwanese context by investigating its impact on tour operators and visitors. The management implications inferred from the program will also be discussed. It is hoped that the insights offered by this paper will contribute positively towards the management of whale/dolphin watching tourism.

This study chronicles the shift of whale/dolphin utilization in Taiwan from consumption to tourism. In particular, this study focuses on a quality assurance system: the ecolabelling program, applied to the emerging whale/dolphin watching industry. Information derived from the analysis of the impact of the program shows that the program has a positive impact on tour operators in following the guidelines, particularly regarding environmental impact. The program also generates educational benefits for visitors, including site-based knowledge, awareness of marine conservation, and reinforcing intentions to perform environmentally responsible behaviors. However, it fails to attract most operators to participate because of the cost. It is also unable to create a market advantage for ecolabelled products. With potential educational benefits for visitors in mind, the study highlights the need for increasing public awareness of the program, having more marketing on ecolabelled products, and providing economic incentives for operators to engage in ecolabelling in order to encourage tour operators’ participation in the program and the purchase of ecolabelled tours by visitors. It is hoped that ecolabelling will eventually find a point of differentiation in the market, with tourists selecting sustainably run businesses which will therefore thrive. In this respect, the program is similar to the non-state-market-driven governance system that encourages compliance by recognizing responsibly produced goods and services, and derives its authority not from the state, but through ‘consumer preferences’ in markets [49]. Lastly, while not intending to be a panacea to whale/dolphin watching concerns, the experience of working toward ‘quality assurance’ of whale/dolphin watching in the Taiwanese context might serve as a precedent to be taken into account by managers who intend to introduce a similar approach to the management of this industry.