Table 1_Whale-watching encounters in Tenerife: an exploratory mixed-methods study of visitor experience, interpretation, and conservation-related responses.xlsx

Quantitative data were summarised descriptively, with exploratory Spearman rank correlations, multiple-comparison correction and sensitivity analyses. Open-text responses were examined using hybrid deductive-inductive reflexive thematic analysis. Awe or wonder (44/47, 93.6%), excitement (43/47, 91.5%) and curiosity (41/46, 89.1%) were widely reported, while empathy or concern was more variable (28/47, 59.6%).

Participants commonly described pilot whales as social or family-oriented (34/46, 73.9%). Open-text accounts located meaning in perceived whale behaviour and sociality, free-ranging status, the ocean and sensory setting, and the human context of the excursion. Support for whale protection and limits on tourism-related harm was high, while reports of thinking differently were more mixed.

Perceived influence on feelings about whale protection varied with several emotional and relational responses, but not clearly with perceived whale proximity. “Seeing the whales up close” was nevertheless the most frequently selected influence (22/46, 47.8%). Overall, participants’ immediate accounts were multidimensional rather than reducible to a single feature of the encounter. The study identifies exploratory patterns among concurrently collected responses, not evidence of attitudinal change, later behaviour or conservation outcomes.

The proximity findings are especially important. Close observation was valued, but participants also valued free-ranging animals, space and perceived respectful distance. The findings do not support progressively closer approaches as a route to greater meaning or conservation relevance.

Future work should combine visitor responses with independent measures of vessel practice and whale response.</p>