Study says Brazilians refuse trips to South Africa to fish

A new survey by World Animal Protection has revealed that both South Africans and international tourists of nine nationalities want to end game hunting in favor of wildlife-friendly experiences in South Africa’s array of tourist attractions. The information is being published in parallel with a public consultation on the draft official document on the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity by the South African government.

The survey showed strong global opposition to this activity, as well as positions in favor of funding the protection of the country’s wildlife through non-lethal alternatives, such as responsible tourism.

For this purpose, interviews were conducted with 10,900 people from all over the world, including foreign visitors from the main markets that send tourists to South Africa residing outside the African continent (the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Australia, India, Brazil and Canada), as well as citizens of South Africa themselves. Interviews were conducted by London-based agency Flood & Partners during the month of April. In all, 1,091 Brazilians were consulted, a similar number to other foreigners.

The study was designed to understand the biases in major South African outbound tourism markets towards sport fishing, to ascertain local citizens’ perceptions of the practice and as opposed to alternatives to wildlife-friendly tourism, and to assess which routes are acceptable as part of the South. Africa’s future strategies for sustainable wildlife tourism.

To get an idea of ​​the importance of this sector, according to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC, Economic Impact of Global Wildlife Tourism 2019), wildlife tourism in 2018 directly contributed $120 billion to economies. around the world. around the world. Adding indirect supply chain benefits, the total specialist contribution jumps to $343.6 billion or 3.9% of global travel and tourism GDP for the year.

Specifically in relation to the Brazilian reality, in 2019, the last year before the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic ended, Brazil received 6.3 million foreign visitors, who spent about 6 billion US dollars here. A study of international tourism demand (Ministry of Tourism, 2019) indicates that “nature, eco-tourism or adventure” was the second main motivator for foreigners who came to the country for leisure, accounting for nearly 19% of all trips in this category.

By way of comparison, figures from the World Tourism Organization (International Tourism Highlights 2020) show that in 2019, South Africa received 10.3 million international tourists, leaving foreign currency in the order of 8.4 billion US dollars in the country.

Therefore, in the face of the perception of mixed signals about reconciling sustainable tourism and economic development by the South African government over the past year, Animal Protection Worldwide, a non-governmental organization working in favor of animal welfare, has undertaken research in order to qualify the public debate.

Brazilians’ opinions

Unlike in South Africa, sport or commercial hunting of wild animals has been banned in Brazil for more than half a century. This unified national position is reflected in the feelings of Brazilians when assessing the prospects for tourism in that country.

In general, Brazilians believe that exploiting fishing as a tourist attraction is something that harms the reputation of the African country, something that decisively discourages them from making a visit. However, they seem a little more tolerant of the idea when hunting masquerades as a protection policy.

On the other hand, they are realizing that wildlife-friendly practices really need to be a priority, with an increased propensity for animal sanctuaries, remote monitoring and photographic expeditions. Alternatives involving animal suffering are rejected as ways of development.

In a more detailed analysis, about 75% of Brazilians surveyed believe that adopting sport fishing as a pillar of South Africa’s economy and conservation policy will damage the country’s reputation as a leader in environmental conservation in Africa, a percentage that is largely in line with the total number (74%) . Brazilians were more consistent with this statement than Australians (74%), Canadians (73%), Indians (70%) and more favorably than Americans (68%).

When asked if they would be discouraged as tourists from visiting a country whose sport fishing is an essential part of its economy and conservation policy, Brazilians, although expressing broad disapproval of the proposal (66%), showed one of the lowest enrollments, with Americans (65%). In this case, the overall agreement was 72%.

When asked about their tendency to visit a country that promotes sport hunting as an acceptable and sustainable way to manage its wildlife populations, Brazilians continued to feel frustrated, at a higher rate (68%) than in the previous suggestion. , again a little lower. Globally (71%) and at a slightly higher level than Americans (65%) the least adherent.

Regarding the idea that the South African government should prioritize wildlife-friendly tourism over sport fishing as a key part of the country’s economy and conservation policy, Brazilians were overwhelmingly in favor (90%). The commitment, in this case, was much higher than the general agreement (84%) and in line with the agreement of the French (90%).

Acceptable Tourism Practices

Respondents were also specifically asked regarding different types of acceptable practices for tourism in South Africa as a way of identifying positive and potential alternatives to developing the activity.

Along with Australians (95%), British (94%) and Canadians (93%), Brazilians (93%) were the most preferred wildlife sanctuaries (places where animals are rescued and given proper care throughout life). positive model. Global data was 91%.

A similar agreement was registered for the tourism proposal which is limited to observing and photographing animals in their natural habitats. Australians (94%) led in support of this practice, followed by Brazilians (93%), Canadians (93%) and British people (92%). Global data was 91%.

On the other hand, zoos have less support, though: 82% of international tourists accept this model. Brazilians (89%) and Australians (89%) are the most favorite for this sport.

Tourist practices involving animal suffering have mostly been rejected by international travelers. Commercial wildlife farms (facilities where animals are raised and used for recreation, slaughter and marketing) were considered acceptable by only 23% of Britons, 24% of Brazilians, and 26% of French (32% globally).

However, the majority of Indians (51%) heard the idea welcomed. And only 19% of the tourists interviewed considered the more extreme practice of hunting and slaughtering animals for sport or leisure as acceptable. The British (12%), Brazilians (13%) and Germans (14%) were the least tolerant.

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