Human development, societal stability and bird capital predict global tourist eBirding activity
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19583153 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela (0000-0002-5120-7226, University of California, Santa Cruz, corresponding author), Sam de Alfaro (0009-0007-6590-5766, New York University), Montague H C Neate‐Clegg (0000-0001-9753-6765, University of California, Santa Cruz), Luca de Alfaro (0000-0003-3856-4576, University of California, Santa Cruz), Katarina Bjegovic (0009-0007-5656-2503, University of California, Santa Cruz), R Scott Winton (0000-0002-9048-9342, University of California, Santa Cruz) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 10 |
| Pages | 2486-2499 |
| Publication date | 2025-10-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | People and Nature (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2575-8314 • E-ISSN: 2575-8314 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/pan3.70105 |
| OpenAlex | W4413740880 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 62 |
Birdwatching tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors within nature‐based tourism. This specialized form of ecotourism has the potential to bring economic and conservation benefits to tropical countries, which house the richest avifaunas, but little is known about the factors driving birdwatchers' decisions about which country to visit when they travel abroad. We assessed the growth of birdwatching tourism from 2010 to 2022 using data from the community‐science platform eBird. We then used a Bayesian hierarchical model to evaluate the factors that predict variation in eBirding tourism rates, including bird capital (total and small‐range species richness) and socio‐economic factors (Global Peace Index and Human Development Index) for 155 countries. Our results suggest that overall species richness and relative small‐range species richness are positive predictors of eBirding tourism activity, as are the Human Development Index and relative societal stability. Our findings highlight cases that illustrate the observed disparities among countries and make recommendations on how nations with unrealized potential can accrue economic and conservation benefits from birdwatching tourism. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog
Business · Economic geography · Economics · Geography · Tourism · Computer Science · Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Recreation, Leisure, Wilderness Management
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |