2021 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
Japanese low-consumptive wildlife tourism: meaning and morality in hybrid online-offline spaces
| Project/Area Number |
21F20797
|
|---|
| Research Institution | Hokkaido University |
|---|
Principal Investigator |
Edelheim Johan 北海道大学, メディア・コミュニケーション研究院, 特任教授 (00846305)
|
|---|
| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
CROSSLEY EMILIE 北海道大学, メディア・コミュニケーション研究院, 外国人特別研究員
|
|---|
| Project Period (FY) |
2021-07-28 – 2022-03-31
|
| Keywords | tourism / zoo / wildlife / red fox / cute / commodification / multispecies / ethnography |
|---|
| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
The research explores how wildlife tourism in Japan is responding to increasing consumer pressure for close, embodied encounters with captive animals. Through a multi-sited, multispecies ethnography of Ezo red foxes at five zoos, the research analysed commodified ‘fox hugs’ and feeding encounters that satisfy tourists’ desires for wildlife selfies, feelings of iyashi and social capital. These practices have raised animal welfare concerns among some tourists and observations of the foxes’ behaviour indicate that these concerns may be justified. The research concludes that more ethical iyashi experiences can be derived from captive wildlife viewing at close proximity in which the animals are not subjected to forced physical contact with tourists or made to compete for food.
|
| Research Progress Status |
令和3年度が最終年度であるため、記入しない。
|
| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
令和3年度が最終年度であるため、記入しない。
|
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
[Book] Professionalism. In J. R. Edelheim, M. Joppe & J. Flaherty (Eds.). Teaching tourism: Innovative, values-based learning experiences for transformative practices (pp. 107-114).2022
Author(s)
Joppe, M., Edelheim, J., Flaherty, J., Bommenel, E., Camargo, B. A., Clausen, H. B., Crossley, E., Ek, R., Kugapi, O., Miller, M. C., Reid, S., Rodenburg, K., & Turnsek, M.
Total Pages
8
Publisher
Edward Elgar
ISBN
9781800374553
