ABSTRACT
Over the late twentieth and early twenty-fi rst centuries, wildlife tourism has experienced signifi cant growth, rooted in an ever-increasing demand for naturebased activities, usually linked to non-consumptive practices such as bird watching, photographic safaris, conservation holidays and rural activities in general. In this context, also, consumptive practices such as trophy hunting and fi shing have become an important activity at some tourism destinations. Historically, these activities fi nd their origin some 10,000 years ago when, prior to the agricultural revolution, hunting and gathering were the major economic activities devised by humans (Hummel 1994). In fact, while ‘hunting animals for food and for sport has existed for thousands of years, the idea of visiting and observing wild animals for recreational purposes, as a tourist attraction, has been a more recent phenomenon’ (Orams 2002: 282). Popular and fashionable within societies of the developed world, recreational ‘safaris’ (wildlife viewing, wildlife hunting and angling) aim at outdoor experiences characterised by the enjoyment of adventure, thrill of the chase, challenge of shooting, uniqueness of wildlife, landscapes and coastlines (Novelli and Humavindu 2005: 172), the contest of skills and general entertainment.
