Keywords

The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.

Jacques Y. Cousteau, ocean explorer

We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea — whether it is to sail or to watch it — we are going back from whence we came.

John F. Kennedy, U.S. president

… for Indigenous people, when they jump into the ocean, it’s a feeling of being connected to culture and feeling a sense of belonging when that first wave washes over you.

Otis Carey, surfer

1 Introduction

The recognition that the health of our species is intrinsically tied to the well-being of the planet is widespread, with the ocean playing a pivotal role in addressing pressing challenges, notably climate change.Footnote 1 As the epigraphs reported above show, the ocean is often perceived as a fascinating place for adventures and discoveries: across time, places, and cultures, humans have connected to the ocean, searching for and experiencing intense emotions. Despite our deep fascination and interconnectedness with the ocean, our relationship with it has become problematic due to detrimental human activities (e.g., overfishing) and various types of pollution (e.g., microplastic, chemical, and noise) stemming from such activities.Footnote 2

It can be assumed that at the basis of such a challenging situation is a dominant view of the ocean merely as a pool of resources for humanity rather than an integral component of the interconnected web of life shared by humans and numerous other species. To find alternative views and viable practices, some scholars critically point to the fundamental anthropocentrism implicit in the Western dominant view of nature. They advocate for a paradigm shift that underscores the relationships among all inhabitants of the land and seas on our planet.Footnote 3 According to these scholars, this shift in mindset is crucial for moving beyond the current environmental challenges and fostering a more harmonious coexistence with the diverse life forms that share our planet.

Exploring non-anthropocentric views of non-human entities is an exciting and crucially important endeavour in which brilliant thinkers such as deep ecologist Arne Naess and posthuman philosophers Rosi Braidotti and Donna Haraway have engaged.Footnote 4 Recently, such challenging and provoking views, tied to the necessity for inner changes towards more inclusive mindsets, have permeated various disciplines, including sustainable science.Footnote 5 For example, Cielemęcka and Daigle describe sustainability not solely referring to the perpetuation of the human species,Footnote 6 as traditionally established in perspectives as the ones discussed in the Brundtland reportFootnote 7 and the framework elaborated by the Stockholm Resilience Centre,Footnote 8 but as the thriving of all life.

This chapter adopts a practical stance in exploring non-anthropocentric views of the natural environment. It contemplates the challenges and potentials of ocean tourism, i.e., tourism occurring in marine environments, in cultivating a relational mindset that can encourage and support respectful ways to think about and act upon the ocean and its inhabitants. Additionally, it considers the potential role of academics in this context. Extensive literature acknowledges tourism as an essential source of transformative experiences of self-discovery and growthFootnote 9 and, for nature-based tourism, an enhancer of environmental knowledge and consciousness.Footnote 10 These considerations, coupled with considerations about the concept of empathy and its adoption in the case of whale watching, form the foundation of this chapter. Furthermore, in line with the overall objective of this book, this chapter provides a clear example of how tourism, as a free-choice learning activity (i.e., education occurring outside a formal classroom setting), uses experience and emotion to instil a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness between human activity and the health of the planet’s ecosystems—in this case, the ocean.

Section 2 discusses whale watching as a transformative experience that educates people about the ocean and engages them in its protection and conservation, and as an activity that requires collaboration across various stakeholders. Section 3 starts by presenting the main features of how whale watching has emerged as an important form of tourism in the Troms and Finnmark county (northern Norway) and the author’s engagement in this regard. The section progresses with the author’s reflections on what she has observed about the way the whales are considered, in exploitative terms (as resources) or relational terms. It also explores the dimensions of empathy represented in the reasoning and actions of diverse stakeholders. Section 4 closes the chapter by offering insights into how academics can harness relational thinking and empathy to shape tourism in a way that can truly contribute to ocean protection and conservation.

2 Whale Watching and Ocean Protection and Conservation

The potential of whale watching to educate tourists and engage them in ocean protection and conservation is extensively explored in the literature, along with the sustainability of the sector and potential benefits for local communities hosting this form of tourism.Footnote 11 The premise is that experiencing encounters with wild marine megafauna can inspire tourists and lead to positive outcomes, in terms of entertainment, well-being, education, and environmentalism. Such an argument hinges on the strategic planning and implementation of whale watching within the framework of a responsible way to conduct tourism activities.Footnote 12 The latter implies the collaboration of various actors, including tourism operators, governmental agencies, research institutes, NGOs and the local communities, and networks with nonlocal actors. Some scholars suggest that science, particularly science communication, and academics can play a pivotal role in fostering collaboration among these stakeholders.Footnote 13

The notion that knowledge is central to responsible whale watching tourism and plays a crucial role in the overall experience is well-established in the literature. Building on Becken and Coghlan, it can be proposed that elements beyond knowledge are also pivotal for promoting and achieving sustainable transformations of the tourism system.Footnote 14 Specifically, the emotions that tourists and, importantly, other relevant stakeholders harbour in relation to whales should be considered alongside their knowledge. In this context, empathy, understood as the ability to understand others’ perspectives as well as the emotional and behavioural response associated with this understanding,Footnote 15 can play a key role. Discussing tourism in the post-COVID Anthropocene, Jamal et al. emphasise the necessity of critical and empathic “doing”, encompassing cognitive empathy (“mind”), affective empathy (“heart”), and conative empathy (“hands”).Footnote 16 Applying such concepts to whale watching, it can be argued that the whale watchers’ emotions towards the animals and their knowledge about their world should be considered alongside their actions: these three components are essential for fostering a relational approach to thinking about and practising tourism, and overall, protecting and caring for the environment.

3 Whale Watching in Northern Norway: Facts and Reflections

Tourists visiting northern Norway can choose among various ways to meet the whales, including tours with big vessels, small boats, and rigid inflatable boats, as well as close encounters by kayaking and snorkeling. While whales have been observed in specific areas of northern Norway for an extended period, it is only since around 2011 that numerous pods of whales have visited other areas, particularly Tromsø and Skjervøy, to feed on herrings. The local tourism industry has capitalised on this phenomenon, leading to the emergence of numerous companies offering whale watching experiences. Alongside the increasing number of companies and tourists, discussions and sometimes rather heated debates have ensued regarding the safety of whale watching, for both humans and animals and its relevance to the local economy and the destination image. Many actors have engaged actively in such discussions, and this resulted in two sets of voluntary guidelines and a set of governmental regulations.

This chapter’s author has conducted extensive research on regional whale watching tourism, exploring different aspects through various approaches.Footnote 17 Some of the key areas of focus in the studies include:

  • the rapid emergence of whale watching tourism in an unregulated context;

  • the coexistence of whale watching and other activities (oil exploration, experiments on wild whales);

  • collaborative actions to regulate whale watching tourism;

  • the experiential value of the whale watching experience in terms of empathy towards the animals;

  • the social media’s role in creating expectations about the whale encounters.

Regarding the adopted approaches, some of the conducted studies were based on close collaboration with biologists and NGOs representatives. A creative approach was adopted in a few studies to reflect on the animal agency and consider the animals as stakeholders entitled to express their viewpoint on tourism and, ultimately, influence the sector. An action research approach underpinned the development of a set of local (area surrounding the city of Tromsø) guidelines and three letters of concern by various actors (destination management organisation, companies, NGOs, academics) targeting the responsible governmental agency.

Despite the passage of several years since the initial study, one constant element is the recurring discussions about the need for further and stricter regulations. Such discussions are usually sparked by episodes of irresponsible behaviour by some whale watchers. For example, in a research note, the author reported a 2018 post on the Facebook page “Whales in the North” showing concern and irritation about whale watchers swimming close to fishing vessels and commenting critically on “the horrible lack of ethics and standards by boat users this season, practices like this just worsens [worsen] the situation”.Footnote 18 Consulting regularly, this Facebook page reveals a mix of posts expressing enthusiasm for animals and nature, alongside some negative sentiments. The latest observation of disagreements refers to two posts dated November 2023 indicating an ongoing debate about the safety of swimming activities and the respect towards the animals (“being in the water with the whales can perfectly be done respectfully, without disturbing them”, 10.11.2023; “I don’t think the impact of snorkelling is so big…”, 20.11.2023; “swimming tourists around a pod of orcas, feeding, I find it, personally, disturbing the animals”, 20.1.2023).

Through her research and having the opportunity to talk with a variety of stakeholders over the years, the author has noted that the comments observed in the online discussions reflect the main points of discussions in other forums. Most people engaged in these discussions, including operators, tourists, researchers, and NGO representatives, are deeply fascinated by the whales and the ocean. Some stakeholders, primarily researchers, have a good understanding of the animals, and other stakeholders are actively improving their knowledge about them. For example, many operators attend courses, employ biologists as guides, and join discussions, showing commitment and passion to learn more about the whales. However, a crucial distinction lies in how this fascination translates into behaviour. While some stakeholders exhibit self-restrictive behaviour, adhering to voluntary and mandatory regulations and, in some cases, advocating for stricter controls and/or rules, others seek close encounters, expressing concerns about potential limitations on their freedom in whale interactions. The expression “love to death” has sometimes been used by the former group of people to describe the emotional drive of the latter, and some have emphasised how such “love” may involve risky adrenaline-driven quests for intense emotions, sometimes reinforced by commercial interests.

Examining this situation through the lens of empathy, it becomes apparent that similar emotions and interests lead to different actions based on the strength and alignment of the three dimensions of empathy. For example, while excitement is generally considered a positive emotion, when not aligned with any of the empathy dimensions, it can lead to a pursuit of close encounters that pose high risks both for humans and animals. For instance, over the years, some people joining the discussions about whale watching have reported episodes of boats driving too fast and/or too close to the animals and snorkelers entering the water “on the animals” while feeding. Similarly, emotional empathy without knowledge can lead to actions, for instance, petting and foraging the whales, which was observed in one case, that can cause negative effects both for the humans (risk of zoonosis) and the animals (getting accustomed to the proximity with boats and people). When the emotions, invoked through interactions with animals, are not complemented by a deep understanding and empathy towards the animal and its natural environment, then well-intended actions end up being detrimental to the health and well-being of the animal.

Apart from cases of irresponsible behaviours that were judged negatively by most stakeholders, in several cases, the author has noted empathy towards the animals, but it often seemed a rather shallow form of empathy. A good example is a dialogue in which the author assisted an NGO representative, who holds a PhD in biology and is specialised in marine mammals, and an experienced operator specialised in whale watching and working in various areas worldwide. While the NGO representative expressed concern for what they considered of paramount importance, namely taking into consideration what the specific animals could gain from the operator’s activity, the latter admitted candidly that the specific animals had nothing to gain. This operator specified that the way the whale watching was performed by their company did not harm the animals and offered the tourists a memorable experience, with important educational outcomes, and that was the focus that they, as a tourism operator, had. The operator’s comment on the harmless conduction of whale watching indicates some empathy across all dimensions but remains somewhat shallow, rooted in a view of the animals as resources that excludes any form of mutual benefits indicative of relational thinking.

In recent years, a clear emerging trend has added to the challenges of fostering a relational mindset: the importance placed on visually capturing whale encounters and, often, disseminating such images through social media. A representative episode occurred during a workshop when an operator sarcastically commented on the average tourist’s desire to get as close as possible to animals for a selfie. The trend of photographing and filming whales and whale encounters not only contributes to unrealistic expectations but also reflects a self-centred and distorted approach to wildlife encounters. According to the latter, possible relations with whales are viewed in markedly anthropocentric ways and, it can be argued, that whale encounters become a means to amplify a person’s digital ego.

4 Conclusion

This chapter has provided insights into the author’s reflections on ocean tourism, based on her engagement with whale watching in northern Norway over the years. Such insights point to the need to approach the management of ocean-based activities from a perspective where knowledge and emotions are combined. The context of tourism is particularly suitable for promoting such a combination. About the specific case of whale watching in northern Norway, while acknowledging significant challenges, the reflections presented in this chapter also highlight the potential of tourism to catalyse cultivating a relational mindset that aligns the cognitive, affective, and conative dimensions of empathy.

Noteworthy potentials emerge from stakeholders who willingly adapt to existing regulations and, in certain instances, advocate for enhanced animal protection and more responsible tourism practices through increased oversight and/or stricter regulations. Apart from a few exceptions, these stakeholders have been commented on in this chapter as still holding a rather utilitarian view of the animals. The latter is quite far from the relational type of mindset discussed by some philosophers and sustainability scholars, and it is still rooted in a view of nature and wildlife as resources for humanity. To foster a deeper alignment of the empathy dimensions and the emergence of more relational thinking, emphasis could be put on the interplay between the emotional and cognitive dimensions of empathy. A close collaboration between researchers and artists, leveraging traditional and modern artistic forms such as storytelling, music, theatre, and virtual reality, can channel emotions such as awe and excitement into responsible and respectful behaviours. The author believes that art offers a unique avenue for letting people explore the animals’ perspectives on tourism encounters, for example, the physical, behavioural, and emotional effects of the noise from boat engines or the interferences of snorkelers during vitally important situations such as feeding.

The major challenge for the emergence of a relational mindset is evident in the concern by some stakeholders about losing the possibility to experience and let other people experience memorable extraordinary encounters, and, for some commercial stakeholders, exploit the animals for profit. In addressing this challenge, advocating for the realism of promoting a relational mindset becomes complex. The author contends that the most promising practical approach involves framing tourism within a well-regulated context.