Community-based tourism and animals: Theorising the relationship

Abstract

There is a growing interest in the role of animals in tourism linked to conservation and their care as well as their contribution to the tourism experience. This article is based on a review of literature. It presents a general framework of relationships between community-based tourism (CBT) and animals. The framework is based on four themes, namely: management, human perspective, the type of relationship, and the role of animals. Animals can be an attraction on their own; they could be used for traction and can be game (meat) for tourists. The CBT- animal framework is the major contribution of this article. For practice, it is a function of management to guide matters related to animal welfare and inform the livelihood strategies of CBT members.