The Great White Shark: Tourism Killer or Tourism Builder? A Look at the Impact of Sharks on Tourism along Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Sharks have historically been viewed as man-eating beasts. Films such as “Jaws,” “Sharknado,” and “Deep Blue Sea” have played upon this view and have helped create both a sense of fear and fascination with sharks... [ view full abstract ]

Sharks have historically been viewed as man-eating beasts. Films such as “Jaws,” “Sharknado,” and “Deep Blue Sea” have played upon this view and have helped create both a sense of fear and fascination with sharks in people. However, fears and attitudes are beginning to change as people are now understanding that sharks play a vital role as an apex predator (Bloomberg, 2/14/14; NY Times, 10/4/11). As such, the public is becoming more aware and accepting of the presence of sharks along the east coast of the United States. Given that seeing a shark, great white or otherwise, was rare in New England for many years, sharks have been an afterthought. Given the increase in the seal population in New England, and especially Cape Cod, Massachusetts, there has been a similar increase in the numbers of great white sharks. In the last two years alone, there have been over 100 sightings of great whites off the coast of Cape Cod (Tech Times, 2014; White Shark Research, 2015). As a result, residents and businesses on the Cape have begun to embrace the great whites as a potential tourism draw. Local businesses are becoming more shark-oriented. Shark-viewing tours, cage-diving, and other shark-related activities are becoming commonplace. Given this trend, a number of questions need to be addressed: (1) What is the actual tourism demand for shark-based excursions? (2) How do tourists to Cape Cod really view the increase in the number of sharks spotted off Cape beaches? (3) How many people are already running businesses impacted by the increase in sharks? (4)What is the need for more shark-related businesses? To address these questions, a survey of tourists and business operators in the Cape Cod towns of Chatham and Orleans was conducted between fall 2015-summer 2016. The purposes of this study were to develop an understanding of Cape Cod tourist attitudes towards sharks and shark-based experiences and to develop an understanding of opportunities for potential shark tourism operators in the outer Cape Cod region.