The global wildlife tourism market is valued at US$135 billion today and is expected to be worth US$219.9 billion by 2032 at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 5% between 2022 and 2032.
Today, with the omnipresence of ecology and the fight for the environment, tourists prefer this form of tourism instead of the hassle of urbanization.
Travelers are interested in the various species of flora and fauna and this requires the provision of hotels, local ecotourism actors, tour operators, receptives, guest houses etc...
This factor, according to a recent study by the World Tourism Organization (WTO), is expected to boost the wildlife tourism market in the coming years.
The recent study of the WTO indicates that other sources of revenue for wildlife reserves could be short film and movie shoots, school and college tours and, not to mention, wildlife photographers. These three revenue streams could keep the wildlife tourism market moving forward.
As studies on Instagram prove, wildlife photography is becoming more widely used. Millennials (born around the year 2000) are exploring a variety of career options, including wildlife photography.
There are many wildlife sanctuaries known for their wildlife. For example the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary (Brisbane, Australia), Noah Arc (Georgia, USA), the Chengdu Moonbear Rescue Center (China) or the Corbett National Park (Uttarakhand, India).
India alone is home to most of the world's wildlife sanctuaries, especially for tigers. Kanha National Park and Ranthambore Wildlife Sanctuary (both based in India) are two of them, where tourists can enjoy the sight of tigers.
At the same time, the negative impacts of tiger tourism cannot be ignored. For example, tourists tend to disturb the tigers by taking their photos or videos.
But it is Africa that leads the wildlife tourism market with various opportunities offered to tourists such as aerial wildlife views in Tanzania and Kenya, hot air balloon safaris and products specific to this market.