The use of non-human animals in ecotourism has a long history, involving a large variety of species in a complex range of contexts. Regardless of how the animals work—whether for display, as a form of sport, or providing labour—the experience has tended to focus on close contact for the purpose of entertaining humans. Anthropocentric dominance and power imbalance in many encounters deny animals moral and welfare consideration and affect the way they are treated. Ecotourism should promote encounters that deliver the dual benefit of entertaining humans and protecting animals, yet most current legislation and policy fails to strongly support this. As ecotourism rapidly transforms to cope with pandemic situations, increased recognition of sentience and intrinsic value of non-humans coupled with the ever-improving innovative technology at our grasp has thrust interactions between humans and animals on the cusp of major change. Social media is increasingly influencing tourist decision-making and using holographic and robotic animals represents some of the current directions animal-based ecotourism is taking.