Exploring the Travel Behavior and Experiences of Norwegian Surfers: Cold- Versus Warm-Water Surfing

More affordable travel opportunities have facilitated a swift rise in surf tourism, which is a growing multibillion dollar global business niche within the broader sport tourism industry. It is argued that a growing number of surfers who are searching for the perfect wave without the crowds found in well-established surfing destinations are shifting to cold-water surfing. Previous research on surf tourism has largely focused on warm- and temperate-water surfing and related travel. However, an exploration of and an attempt to comprehend cold-water surf tourism and how it compares to similar activities in warm water has been overlooked. This study focuses on understanding the travel behavior and related experiences of Norwegian surf tourists domestically and internationally, to cold- and warm-water destinations. Data were collected using a phenomenological approach and semistructured in-depth interviews with 18 experienced Norwegian surfers. Results show that these surfers are highly mobile, visiting warm-water surf destinations such as Morocco, Bali, Australia, and Hawaii and also cold-water surf destinations such as Norway, Iceland, Scotland, and Canada. They travel to surf at least once a year, staying between 10 days and 3 months, preferably in cheap accommodation. The longer the travel distance, the longer the stay. Their experiences of “localism,” where local surfers behave aggressively toward visiting surfers, were more common in crowded warm-water destinations. In addition to the enjoyment of surfing, these Norwegian surf tourists valued opportunities to create new social relationships, experience new and different cultures, and expand their “world-view” via their surf travel. They appreciated unique natural environments and experienced a deep connection to nature. This research presents the first empirical data on the travel behavior and related experiences of surf tourists from a nontraditional surfing nation in ScandinaviaacceptedVersio

Exploring the personal benefits of surfing: insights from cold-water surfers in Jæren, Norway

IntroductionSurfing has grown since the 1960s to become a global marine leisure activity. Traditionally, surfing is associated with tropical and temperate climates and a sea, sand, and sun setting. However, surfing's geographical spread now includes polar and sub-polar regions, areas where the cold and sea-conditions provide challenges to human survival.MethodsThis study uses a phenomenological approach to identify and explore the personal benefits gained by experienced surfers in the Jæren region, south of the city of Stavanger in Norway. Data were obtained from semi-structured in-depth interviews with 13 experienced surfers who surf year-round, but primarily in winter, in extreme conditions. Additional secondary data were derived from written and video material published in online surfing blogs/vlogs and surfers' private video footage.Results and discussionParticipants gained a wide range of benefits including experiencing strong positive feelings, inclusion, and social cohesion with other members in the surfing subculture, a deep connection to nature, physical and mental health benefits, and an overall enhanced quality of life. While international surf travel was constrained by the COVID-19 pandemic, local surfing was reinforced. This resulted in surfing becoming an opportunity to safely socialize with others outside of one's family, thus increasing the social benefits of the sport. This study presents the first empirical data on the personal benefits of surfing from a non-traditional cold-water surfing nation in Scandinavia

Behavioural effects of tourism on oceanic common dolphins, Delphinus sp., in New Zealand: the effects of Markov analysis variations and current tour operator compliance with regulations

Common dolphins, Delphinus sp., are one of the marine mammal species tourism operations in New Zealand focus on. While effects of cetacean-watching activities have previously been examined in coastal regions in New Zealand, this study is the first to investigate effects of commercial tourism and recreational vessels on common dolphins in an open oceanic habitat. Observations from both an independent research vessel and aboard commercial tour vessels operating off the central and east coast Bay of Plenty, North Island, New Zealand were used to assess dolphin behaviour and record the level of compliance by permitted commercial tour operators and private recreational vessels with New Zealand regulations. Dolphin behaviour was assessed using two different approaches to Markov chain analysis in order to examine variation of responses of dolphins to vessels. Results showed that, regardless of the variance in Markov methods, dolphin foraging behaviour was significantly altered by boat interactions. Dolphins spent less time foraging during interactions and took significantly longer to return to foraging once disrupted by vessel presence. This research raises concerns about the potential disruption to feeding, a biologically critical behaviour. This may be particularly important in an open oceanic habitat, where prey resources are typically widely dispersed and unpredictable in abundance. Furthermore, because tourism in this region focuses on common dolphins transiting between adjacent coastal locations, the potential for cumulative effects could exacerbate the local effects demonstrated in this study. While the overall level of compliance by commercial operators was relatively high, non-compliance to the regulations was observed with time restriction, number or speed of vessels interacting with dolphins not being respected. Additionally, prohibited swimming with calves did occur. The effects shown in this study should be carefully considered within conservation management plans, in order to reduce the risk of detrimental effects on common dolphins within the region

Seasonal and Long-Term Changes in Relative Abundance of Bull Sharks from a Tourist Shark Feeding Site in Fiji

Shark tourism has become increasingly popular, but remains controversial because of major concerns originating from the need of tour operators to use bait or chum to reliably attract sharks. We used direct underwater sampling to document changes in bull shark Carcharhinus leucas relative abundance at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve, a shark feeding site in Fiji, and the reproductive cycle of the species in Fijian waters. Between 2003 and 2009, the total number of C. leucas counted on each day ranged from 0 to 40. Whereas the number of C. leucas counted at the feeding site increased over the years, shark numbers decreased over the course of a calendar year with fewest animals counted in November. Externally visible reproductive status information indicates that the species' seasonal departure from the feeding site may be related to reproductive activity

Opportunistic visitors: long-term behavioural response of bull sharks to food provisioning in Fiji

Shark-based tourism that uses bait to reliably attract certain species to specific sites so that divers can view them is a growing industry globally, but remains a controversial issue. We evaluate multi-year (2004–2011) underwater visual (n = 48 individuals) and acoustic tracking data (n = 82 transmitters; array of up to 16 receivers) of bull sharks Carcharhinus leucas from a long-term shark feeding site at the Shark Reef Marine Reserve and reefs along the Beqa Channel on the southern coast of Viti Levu, Fiji. Individual C. leucas showed varying degrees of site fidelity. Determined from acoustic tagging, the majority of C. leucas had site fidelity indexes >0.5 for the marine reserve (including the feeding site) and neighbouring reefs. However, during the time of the day (09:00–12:00) when feeding takes place, sharks mainly had site fidelity indexes <0.5 for the feeding site, regardless of feeding or non-feeding days. Site fidelity indexes determined by direct diver observation of sharks at the feeding site were lower compared to such values determined by acoustic tagging. The overall pattern for C. leucas is that, if present in the area, they are attracted to the feeding site regardless of whether feeding or non-feeding days, but they remain for longer periods of time (consecutive hours) on feeding days. The overall diel patterns in movement are for C. leucas to use the area around the feeding site in the morning before spreading out over Shark Reef throughout the day and dispersing over the entire array at night. Both focal observation and acoustic monitoring show that C. leucas intermittently leave the area for a few consecutive days throughout the year, and for longer time periods (weeks to months) at the end of the calendar year before returning to the feeding site