ABSTRACT
NATCHA : Using an existing framework, we classified each story into one of six categories with respect to how the mammals were portrayed in the article. We categorised most stories in the `mammals as attraction' context. Asian elephants Elephas maximus were the most frequently discussed mammal, and a majority of the stories were focused on events occurring on the African continent. The COVID-19 outbreak is having an unprecedented effect on human society, but how is it affecting the mammals that people live with? Mammals that were part of tourism experiences are of concern, because they impact on people's health and livelihoods and, since many of them are now dependent on people, we urge consideration of the status of these mammals as a result of the pandemic.We provide a systematic review of the impacts the COVID-19 outbreak has had on mammals in tourism venues. We examine reports of diverse species in various settings responding to changes in their environments that are occurring because of the pandemic.We searched the scholarly literature, preprints, and online news sources using combinations of the search terms `tourism', `animals', `wildlife', `coronavirus', and `COVID-19'. We searched Web of Science, SCOPUS, EBSCOHost, JSTOR, bioRxiv, OSFPREPRINTS, GDELT, Google News, and National Public Radio, and analysed a total of 39 news articles, one peer-reviewed article, and six preprints.In total, we identified 92 distinct animal reports representing 48 mammal species. We used an existing tourism classification schema to categorise each article based on the situation reported, with the new addition of one context. We classified 92 separate animal reports in 46 articles into four (of six possible) contexts: mammals as attractions (n = 40 animal reports), mammals as commodities (n = 33), mammals as threats (n = 2), and unusual sightings of mammals (n = 17). Shortage of food, in danger of losing home, having an enriched/relaxed environment, spatial expansion, disease transmission, and poaching are the major impacts or events reported in these contexts.We suggest changes for each context with respect to how people interface with mammals, with the goal of improving the lives of mammals and the people dependent on them
ABSTRACT
This research explored the long-term relation between tourism development and counter-urbanization in a remote island in Japan, as the longevity of in-migrants’ role in low-amenity tourism destinations has been questioned. Using data collected over 10 years at Yakushima Island, the study investigated the island’s population trend, in-migrants’ motivation for relocation, their con-tributions to tourism, and the lives on the island. The results showed that the trend of population growth differed among Yakushima’s 24 villages likely because of accessibility, proximity to tourism attractions, the weather, and housing availability. Yakushima’s natural environment was the key factor in in-migrants’ migration choice. Encounters and connections with people on the island were found to be another important factor. In-migrants introduced ecotours as an innovation in the 1990s, and thereafter, many in-migrants moved to Yakushima with high aspirations of becoming tour guides. Tourism stagnated starting in 2008, and some in-migrants began moving out of the island. Despite the overall downward trend of tourism, an increase in international tourists created a niche market before the COVID-19 pandemic, attracting foreign in-migrants as tourism entrepreneurs in recent years. Similar to the main driver for Japanese in-migrants’ relocation, nature was also the main motivation for international tourists’ relocation. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.