Balancing ecotourism and conservation management
It is evident in our study that urban tourists perceive bat-watching as
an important initiative to raise awareness for bat conservation.
However, ecotourism should follow regulations and focus on the true
concepts of ecotourism. Cave tourism is among the key threats for global
bats (Furey and Racey 2015; Tanalgo et al. 2018) that can stem from a
lack of sustainable management. The apparent impact of cave ecotourism
on bats occurs when visitors introduce loud noises, add light and cause
environmental and atmospheric changes (Cardiff et al. 2012). These have
detrimental effects on bat physiology and behaviour (Speakman et al.
1991) and altering reproductive success and patterns of bats (e.g.,
gestation) (Biswas et al. 2011; Furey et al. 2011). The negative impacts
of unregulated cave tourism and religious activities have greater
implications in regions where such activities are famous, and there is
high reproductive synchrony among species (e.g., in Southeast Asia, Lim
et al. 2018). Likewise, cave tourism increases emerging disease
transmission risks spatially and between humans and bats (e.g.,
White-nose syndrome in North American bats) (Jülg et al. 2008; Lorch et
al. 2011) and may cause bats to shift roosts and thus further impact
population health and viability. Furthermore, the consequences of the
alteration in bat biology and ecology caused by unregulated tourism have
drastic impacts on populations (Phelps et al. 2016, 2018) and of the
provision of their ecosystem services (Sritongchuay et al. 2016).
Regulating tourist activities, human-made infrastructure and
illumination inside the cave are crucial to sustainably manage caves
(Gillieson 2011; Šebela and Turk 2014; Lobo 2015).