A basic tenet of ecotourism is to enhance conservation. However, few studies have assessed its effectiveness in meeting conservation goals and whether the type of tourism activity affects outcomes. This study examines whether working in ecotourism changes the perceptions of and attitudes and behaviours of local people towards the focal species and its habitat and, if so, if tourism type affects those outcomes. We interviewed 114 respondents at four whale shark Rhincodon typus tourism sites in the Philippines to compare changes in perceptions of and attitudes and behaviours towards whale sharks and the wider marine environment. We found that the smaller scale tourism sites had greater social conservation outcomes than the mass or failed tourism sites, including changes in conservation ethics and perceptions of and attitudes and behaviours towards whale sharks and the ocean. Furthermore, of the three active tourism sites, the smallest site, with the lowest economic returns and the highest negative impacts on whale sharks prior to tourism activities, had the largest proportion of respondents who reported a positive change in perceptions of and attitudes and behaviours towards whale sharks and the ocean. Our results suggest that tourism type, and the associated incentives, can have a significant effect on conservation outcomes and ultimately on the ecological status of an Endangered species and its habitat.

中文翻译：

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生态旅游能否改变社区对保护的态度？

生态旅游的一个基本原则是加强保护。然而，很少有研究评估其在实现保护目标方面的有效性以及旅游活动的类型是否会影响结果。本研究探讨生态旅游工作是否会改变当地人对重点物种及其栖息地的看法、态度和行为，如果是，旅游类型是否会影响这些结果。我们采访了四个鲸鲨的 114 位受访者犀牛菲律宾的旅游景点比较对鲸鲨和更广泛的海洋环境的看法、态度和行为的变化。我们发现，规模较小的旅游地点比大规模或失败的旅游地点具有更大的社会保护成果，包括保护伦理以及对鲸鲨和海洋的看法、态度和行为的变化。此外，在三个活跃的旅游景点中，最小的景点，在旅游活动之前经济回报最低，对鲸鲨的负面影响最大，受访者报告对鲸鲨的看法、态度和行为发生积极变化的比例最大。鲸鲨和海洋。我们的结果表明，旅游类型和相关的激励措施，