Using regional geographic scale substitution to value coastal wildlife tourism: Implications for stakeholders, conservation and management

• A coastal dolphin-watching industry is valued using local and regional substitution with other attractions.
• Dolphin-watching is partially substituted by other attractions locally, and neighbouring attractions regionally.
• If dolphins are extirpated, stakeholders locally and regionally lose, but neighbouring stakeholders gain.
• Local and regional geographic scale may influence coastal wildlife tourism valuations.
• Managers may use this approach to identify and target stakeholders through conservation interventions.

Marine and coastal wildlife tourism industries such as cetacean and shark tourism are increasing globally, as is the need to value and sustainably manage these industries. To reliably estimate expenditures attributable to wildlife tourism, it is important to consider the degree to which the target species can be substituted by other attractions in the same geographic area. However, the effect of substitution between coastal wildlife tourism industries and other geographically-connected tourist attractions across a broad region is typically neglected. We value a coastal wildlife tourism industry by considering the influence of substitution between wildlife tourism and other attractions, locally and regionally. Using surveys, we found that dolphin-watching at Chilika Lagoon was partially substituted by other attractions locally, and geographically neighbouring attractions in the region of Odisha (India). If dolphins are extirpated, stakeholders in Chilika and Odisha will lose, but neighbouring stakeholders gain. This approach is useful for: (1) estimating the value of coastal wildlife tourism where neighbouring attractions also draw tourists to a region, (2) identifying which stakeholders to target through conservation and management interventions.