World Elephant Day: More Chinese tourists choose animal-friendly tours in Thailand

Elephant riding and elephant shows have become less favorable activities among Chinese tourists visiting Thailand, with many of them choosing more animal-friendly tours instead, according to a recent report by World Animal Protection.

A girl kisses the nose of an elephant in Way Kambas National Park, Lampung, Indonesia, on July 20, 2019. [Photo: INA Photo Agency via IC]

Released ahead of World Elephant Day on August 12, the report looked at the attitudes and behaviors of global tourists participating in wildlife tourism and entertainment in recent years.

The Shanghai-based news agency The Paper quoted the previous figures that over 550,000 wild animals kept in captivity around the world just for the purpose of entertaining tourists. In the Southeast Asian countries, about 3,000 elephants are used to entertain people.

According to the World Animal Protection report, a 13-percent decrease in elephant riding and a 26-percent decrease in elephant watching among Chinese tourists in Thailand over last three years. This is believed to indicate an increase in awareness about animal protection among Chinese tourists.

The results also show that Chinese tourists are more inclined to choose "animal-friendly tours", and the tourism market is becoming more optimistic as people's animal protective awareness is improving.

Furthermore, China is making efforts to stop ivory smuggling and taking measures to stop ivory purchase. The Chinese government called for an end to commercial processing and sale of ivory and ivory products by the end of 2017. Any trade in ivory products has been illegal in China since the year of 2018.