ELEPHANT rides and shows in Thailand have become less popular with Chinese tourists in recent years, according to a report released ahead of World Elephant Day, which falls on today, with most travelers now preferring animal-friendly tours. Experts said the trend showed public awareness of wildlife protection was becoming stronger, which will benefit animal protection efforts around the world. The report, released Wednesday by World Animal Protection, an international nonprofit organization, was based on several surveys regarding wildlife-related tours in Thailand. The surveys, conducted from 2014 to 2019, collected responses from more than 40,000 tourists from 16 countries, including the United States, China, Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom and Sweden. They found that 36 percent of Chinese travelers had ridden elephants in 2016 but only 23 percent had done so this year. The percentage of travelers who had watched elephant shows declined from 44 percent to 18 percent in the same period. Last year, 37 percent of Chinese travelers said riding elephants was an acceptable form of entertainment, a decline of 8 percentage points compared with the previous year and below the global average of 41 percent. According to Thailand’s Ministry of Tourism and Sports, Chinese tourists accounted for 28 percent of all foreign visitors to Thailand last year, making 10.35 million visits. By July, about 240 tourism companies around the world, including 15 in China, had removed wildlife entertainment services, including elephant riding, from the itineraries they offered, according to World Animal Protection. | 