In an increasingly urbanised world, it is perhaps no surprise that people experience an increased need to holiday in natural environments. The demand for ecotourism is growing worldwide at a faster rate than tourism in general and within it, wildlife tourism is one of the fastest-growing niche markets. Humans’ affiliation with animals is steeped in evolutionary history and wildlife watching is one of the key reasons that people visit natural areas.

Ranging from independent specialists to more mainstream package tours – from the ‘Big Five’ (lion, elephant, buffalo, rhino, leopard) in East Africa to increasingly popular wildlife cruises, wildlife tourism is found at every level of the market. It covers a wide spectrum of experiences and within it, bird watching and whale watching have developed as separate sectors.

Travel and Tourism Analyst is a series of insightful, informative reports on various areas of the travel and tourism industry. Published twice per month (Feb-Nov), each report offers an objective and detailed study covering one of the following five sectors:

Accommodation – everything from luxury hotels to 'glamping'

Transport – from air travel and car hire to the cruise industry, rail and coach travel

Niche Markets – key emerging or established sectors of the industry eg ecotourism, festival tourism

Outbound Markets – detailed profiles of the world's tourism origin countries

Technology – the evolution of the industry online and new technological developments