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5. PERMIT-HOLDER CHARACTERISTICS, SUCCESS AND
ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION
There are currently 18 permit holders in South Africa. Although 26 permits were originally gazetted in
2001, circumstances have allowed this total to reach a potential maximum of 27 permits, due to the
unplanned double permitting of the Gordon’s Bay area (Area 6). Seventeen of the 18 existing permit
holders kindly made themselves available to be interviewed during this study.
5.1 Sensitivity and availability of information
It should be noted that much of the information collected during this study is highly confidential and
could be potentially damaging if released to competitors. In order to maintain confidentiality, the
economic characteristics of permit holders will be presented in summary form and discussed at the
national level unless necessary. Any deviations from this will be explained as such. Though a high
degree of cooperation and willingness to share information did exist, it is likely that some errors
related to individual estimations and possible reluctance to divulge all financial details may have
occurred. The reporting of summary statistics is likely to minimise this and allow real trends to
emerge.
5.2 Distribution and history of permit holders
The majority of boat-based whale watching areas fall within the Western Cape Province, which also
has the highest numbers of permit holders and proportion of permits taken up (Figure 5.1). This
supports perceptions by most permit holders that the Western Cape is the most well know whale
watching area in the country, with specific sites, such as Hermanus, being well known on a global
scale. The majority (80%) of all current permit holders interviewed had possessed their permits for
more than one year, with two-thirds (69%) of these having possessed a permit since at least 2000
(including one that had changed hands during this time). Some 44% of current permit holders were in
possession of permits from 1998, thus being active prior to the official gazetting of boat-based whale
watching areas, and have maintained this status since that time. This suggests that turnover of
permit holders has been low and that the areas currently filled by long-standing permit holders
represent the more successful and sustainable areas available. The newer areas (and some
previously-occupied areas) may represent more marginal areas which require further development
and marketing in order to make them successful as boat-based whale watching sites. Based on
information from respondents, the initial success of an area appears to depend on a combination of
existing site-specific characteristics such as accessibility and infrastructure combined with marketing
and management by the permit holder. Area 22, corresponding to Durban Harbour, thus appears to
be an anomaly and the lack of successful permit holders there is likely to be temporary.
No of permits
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
Available permits
Occupied permits
Western Cape Eastern Cape KwaZulu-Natal
Figure 5.1. Distribution of available and currently active permits in the three provinces where Areas have
been designated.
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