Marketing birds: The traits birdwatching tourism companies highlight in Costa Rican tour itineraries

Birdwatching tourism has blossomed into a profitable industry, promoting
peoples’ connections to nature and contributing billions of dollars to
local economies annually. Understanding which species birdwatchers value
and why could help distinguish flagship species for ecotourism and
conservation marketing. Here, we draw from ecological, psychological, and
economic perspectives to test hypotheses about which species’ attributes
(i.e., traits) are most prevalent among birds marketed to birdwatchers. To
do so, we implemented a multi-year course-based undergraduate research
experience to quantify how often >750 bird species appeared in
>150 itineraries describing tours traversing Costa Rica. We then
associated itinerary mentions with data on species’ appearances,
vocalizations, distributions, conservation statuses, and behaviors. We
found that larger, more attractive species appeared frequently in trip
itineraries, but species with pleasing vocalizations did not. We also
found that range-restricted species appeared ten times more frequently in
trip itineraries than cosmopolitan species. Species with tropical
distributions that rarely associate with humans were also more frequently
mentioned, suggesting that companies recognize the high value dedicated
birdwatchers place on novel species. Surprisingly, IUCN status was not
associated with itinerary scores, and commonly encountered species were
more likely to be mentioned in trip itineraries than rarely encountered
species. These findings suggest tour companies may balance species’
perceived novelty to birdwatchers against the likelihood that they can
‘deliver’ them to their clients. Our findings broadly contribute to a
deeper understanding of how human preferences shape interactions with
biodiversity and may help bridge the gap between cultural ecosystem
services and conservation strategies. Insights into which traits drive
birdwatcher preferences could help conservation practitioners and tour
operators identify species potentially at risk from unregulated
birdwatching tourism as well as species that could be used as flagships to
motivate ecotourism and conservation actions.