If you want people to care about the environment, give them a close call with a whale, turtle or dolphin. That is what researchers have found at The University of Queensland.
A research team from UQ's School of Tourism, under the leadership of Professor Roy Ballantyne, has been studying the changes people have made in their day to day lives after coming into contact with a marine animal.
The team found up to 7 per cent of people made changes to their environmental behaviour after visiting places such as the Mon Repos turtle rookery near Bundaberg, Seaworld or UnderWater World.
They also made the changes after going on a whale watching trip at Hervey Bay or on the Gold Coast.
Senior Research Fellow, Dr Jan Packer, said people became more conscious of disposing of plastic bags, not flushing waste down drains and recycling.
They were still acting on this awareness four months after their visits, Dr Packer said
Those visiting Mon Repos and going whale watching were the most likely to still be thinking green after four months, she said.
"At the sites where the animals are non-captive there was a more powerful response. People felt a sense of privilege being in the animal’s own environment,’" she said.
"With whale watching, in particular, there was a bonding between the mammals and humans. People reported things like whales looking at them, being curious and approaching them. That had an emotional impact."
Dr Packer said the research pointed to the importance of tourist destinations with marine settings having an environmental message.
"There is a need for people to reflect on the experience when they are on site," she said.
"We recommend to people who run these activities to try to build in an opportunity for people to process what they are seeing and being told and how to respond to it."
The researchers expected to publish their final findings mid to late next year.
Professor Ballantyne said the team had plans for further research to determine how tourist operators could encourage a greater percentage of visitors to adopt environmentally-sensitive behaviours in response to wildlife or ecotourism experiences.
Media: Erik de Wit (0417 088 772)
