Abstract
Despite an increasing awareness of animal welfare issues, elephant rides are still a popular tourism activity in Thailand. Furthermore, although western tourism operators have increasingly stopped offering elephant rides, the number of elephants and tourism rides is still on the rise. It is therefore important to understand, on what basis tourists make their decision to ride or not to ride an elephant. This research explored readers’ online discussions in the comment section of a news article reporting on the death of an elephant handler while tourists took an elephant ride. Findings revealed that engaging in such online discussions was an effective part of readers’ sense- and decision-making processes. Online discussions and comment sections therefore can provide an important tool for communication strategies for responsible tourism activities.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Proceedings of the 28th Annual CAUTHE Conference |
| Subtitle of host publication | Get Smart: Paradoxes and Possibilities in Tourism, Hospitality and Events Education and Research |
| Editors | Tamara Young, Gabrielle McGinnis, Paul Stolk |
| Place of Publication | Newcastle. NSW |
| Publisher | University of Newcastle |
| Pages | 777-780 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Edition | 1 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780994514127 |
| Publication status | Published - Feb 2018 |
| Event | 28th Annual CAUTHE Conference: Get Smart: Paradoxes and Possibilities in Tourism, Hospitality and Events Education and Research - University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia Duration: 5 Feb 2018 → 8 Feb 2018 Conference number: 28 |
Conference
| Conference | 28th Annual CAUTHE Conference |
|---|---|
| Abbreviated title | CAUTHE 2018 |
| Country/Territory | Australia |
| City | Newcastle |
| Period | 5/02/18 → 8/02/18 |