We compared gait, pulse, blood pressure and speech volume of tourists before and after encounters with rhesus macaques, Macaca mulatta, in Zhangjiajie National Forest Park, China, relative to the same parameters after the same tourists had visited a control site without macaques. We tested 600 tourists from 38 groups, stratified by age and gender. We also compared the length of stay and number of photographs at each site and elicited tourists' views and emotions through a questionnaire. Behavioural, physiological and psychological indicators all showed positive responses to interactions with macaques. Few previous studies of wildlife tourism have measured human responses in this way.