Forget the wildlife selfie

Demand for animal interactions is on the rise, but even well-intentioned tourists might struggle to find experiences that are good for both visitor and animal.

- Clara Lock

It is a blistering afternoon - in other words, regular Chiang Mai weather - and my group of seven is plodding through the Changchill elephant sanctuary in northern Thailand, trying to spot one of four resident pachyderms.

Our guide warns that a sighting is not guaranteed. The humidity is soupy and cloaking, the air scented with artificial-coconut sunscreen, citronella oil and perspiration. Mosquitoes nip at exposed slivers of our wrists and ankles. On we trudge.

Here's the thing about ethical wildlife encounters: They're often harder - entailing bigger financial investments, longer journeys, and a trek to locate animals in their natural habitat. Why, then, undertake the effort?

People seeking wildlife experiences are usually animal lovers. Some are parents getting their kids up close to nature, while others might look specifically for experiences that contribute to conservation.

The last thing travellers want is to make a negative impact on the animals. Already, awareness of animal welfare has shifted demand away from experiences like the tiger selfie where, across South-east Asia, tourists cuddle with drugged and captive cats as a prop.

But even with the best intentions, selecting the right operator can be tricky when competition is rife and the animal sanctuary industry rings with buzzwords such as "ethical", "responsible" and "eco-friendly". This was what I found out when I went down a rabbit hole of Tripadvisor reviews trying to select an elephant sanctuary to visit.

The market is huge because animal encounters have immense international appeal. A 2018 report by the World Travel and Tourism Council noted that the travel and tourism sector contributes 10.4 per cent of global GDP, with a third of this coming from wildlife tourism.