Percepção de turistas sobre “atividade/interação” com botos vermelhos (Inia geoffrensis (de Blainville, 1817) no estado do Amazonas, Brasil

Abstract

Much has been said about the problems involving tourists and pink dolphins in Amazonian. The dolphin-human interaction for tourism in Brazil is reported about six years by researchers who observed negative effects of this type of activities on both animals (behavioral changes, especially) and - tourists involved (accidents with injuries). However, a less invasive manner of this activity, the Ecotourism, is considered by many researchers, nationally and internationally, as a viable alternative for the conservation of cetacean (whales and dolphins). This study aimed to investigate, according to the perception of tourists interviewed, what is the main factor which influences the satisfaction of the tourists who seeking interaction activities with dolphins. Thus, to discuss the appropriate activity template under an ecotourism perspective considering the dolphins welfare involved and the visitor satisfaction, were conducted 149 self-explanatory questionnaires during the time between the months July 2012 to January 2013 in two tourist places in Amazonas state, Brazil . The questionnaires were designed with open and closed questions and a test of subjective perception through a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) to assess subjective state of tourist satisfaction about the interaction with dolphins. A total of 107 questionnaires were part of the analysis. In addition the participant touristic observations (PTOs) and video/photographic recording were made. The main factor that generates high levels of tourist satisfaction was the animal approach (p<0.001) chosen by the Negative Binomial Generalized Linear Model. Satisfaction levels found (on scale of 0 to 10) were greater than 8 featuring the activities as good. The close interaction of swimming and feeding wild dolphins is controversial about the benefit generated to those involved, because it comprises physical risks to humans and physical/behavioral risks to dolphins. The close observation tourism of ‘botos’ presents as the most appropriate type of tourism conducted with wild dolphins in Amazon, since it prioritizes a less impactful way of tourism and offers the condition of proximity to the animal.