At the centre of the elephant tourism industry lie two profound challenges: the delicate balance between income and compassion, and the severe threats to the survival of all remaining elephant species. Trained elephants exchange hands for staggering sums, reaching up to $100,000 each, yet the colossal appetites of the herds, with each elephant devouring over 100 kilograms of sustenance daily, pose formidable economic challenges for camp owners. An elephant camp's revenue is dependent on to...

The Asia-Pacific area is notable as one of the fastest growing tourism regions and not surprisingly, tourism in this region has become the major driver of global tourism in general. Nonetheless, tourism industries in Asia Pacific has been challenged in recent years by a number of major crises and disasters including terrorism, outbreaks (e.g. SARS and Bird Flu), natural disasters (e.g. tsunamis, bushfires, flooding), and political crisis (e.g. protests and political instability).The aim of...