Wildlife tourism through the co-creation lens

Abstract

This study reflects on the conceptualisation of wild animals as co-creators. Its purpose is to encourage reflection about the role of animals in wildlife tourism. Therefore, to this end – and in the belief that diversity and creativity are important elements in critical thinking – the study was developed by a research team with diverse professional backgrounds. It adopts a fictional methodological approach, employing a fictive dialogue between a tourist joining a swim-with-dolphins tour and a dolphin and draws upon recent scholarly contributions on animals from the perspective of various disciplines, including philosophy, biology and tourism, The study’s most important contribution comes in the form of a discussion of the co-creation concept from a critical perspective, based on innovative and explicitly-described ontological, epistemological and methodological considerations.