Brown bear populations in Europe have recovered in some areas, creating opportunities for ecotourism that must be managed carefully to protect bear welfare.
Bear ecotourism welfare depends entirely on whether bears maintain natural, wild behaviour or become habituated to humans in ways that ultimately endanger them. Tourism that baits bears or allows close human approach creates habituation that ends in the bear's death when it approaches humans in non-tourism contexts. Well-managed ecotourism from hides at natural feeding sites avoids habituation while allowing observation.