2026-10-06T12:42:58Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33986032 2026-09-24T14:08:08Z category_257 portal_316 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Data Sheet 1_Whale-watching encounters in Tenerife: an exploratory mixed-methods study of visitor experience, interpretation, and conservation-related responses.pdf Lavinia Mitchell (25104343) Conservation and Biodiversity conservation attitudes emotional responses Globicephala macrorhynchus human–cetacean interactions meaning-making short-finned pilot whale visitor experience whale watching <p>Whale watching brings people into direct contact with free-ranging cetaceans within marine and managed tourism settings, yet what visitors find meaningful in these encounters - and how different dimensions of the experience are reported together - remains poorly understood. This exploratory, cross-sectional mixed-methods study examined immediate post-excursion self-reports from 47 adults following commercial whale-watching excursions in southwest Tenerife, with short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) as the questionnaire’s focal species. A study-specific organising and interpretive framework was designed with the encounter at its centre. Five domains organised the evidence: participant background and prior context; encounter context and setting; emotional and relational responses; meaning and interpretation; and conservation-related self-reports. Participants completed a post-excursion questionnaire containing closed-response and open-text items. Quantitative data were summarised descriptively, with exploratory Spearman rank correlations, multiple-comparison correction and sensitivity analyses. Open-text responses were examined using hybrid deductive-inductive reflexive thematic analysis. Awe or wonder (44/47, 93.6%), excitement (43/47, 91.5%) and curiosity (41/46, 89.1%) were widely reported, while empathy or concern was more variable (28/47, 59.6%). Participants commonly described pilot whales as social or family-oriented (34/46, 73.9%). Open-text accounts located meaning in perceived whale behaviour and sociality, free-ranging status, the ocean and sensory setting, and the human context of the excursion. Support for whale protection and limits on tourism-related harm was high, while reports of thinking differently were more mixed. Perceived influence on feelings about whale protection varied with several emotional and relational responses, but not clearly with perceived whale proximity. “Seeing the whales up close” was nevertheless the most frequently selected influence (22/46, 47.8%). Overall, participants’ immediate accounts were multidimensional rather than reducible to a single feature of the encounter. The study identifies exploratory patterns among concurrently collected responses, not evidence of attitudinal change, later behaviour or conservation outcomes. The proximity findings are especially important. Close observation was valued, but participants also valued free-ranging animals, space and perceived respectful distance. The findings do not support progressively closer approaches as a route to greater meaning or conservation relevance. Future work should combine visitor responses with independent measures of vessel practice and whale response.</p> 2026-09-24T14:08:08Z Dataset Dataset 10.3389/fcosc.2026.1932374.s004 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Data_Sheet_1_Whale-watching_encounters_in_Tenerife_an_exploratory_mixed-methods_study_of_visitor_experience_interpretation_and_conservation-related_responses_pdf/33986032 CC BY 4.0