Download PDF (2.5MB) - Anchor Environmental

The Sunshine Coast offers good whale and cetacean-viewing opportunities, as well as seal and
seabird colonies. However, it does not have the scenic beauty and good sea conditions of other
areas to the west. Existing demand for marine tours and specifically boat-based whale watching
along the Sunshine Coast is centred in Port Elizabeth. The tourism market in this area has been
traditionally largely domestic, but recent developments in the wildlife industry have encouraged
growth in the international tourism market. Coastal tourism is aimed at beach relaxation and to a
much lesser degree, shore-based whale watching. Marine tours that are offered are aimed at scenic
marine attractions including the islands and birdlife found in Algoa Bay. Port Elizabeth currently
exhibits the highest demand for boat-based whale watching but the success of this is limited by the
relatively short stays of visitors to the area combined with poor weather conditions that limit the
number of trips operators are able to run. There has been little or no increase in the demand in
recent years and this is considered unlikely to change in the near future due to the emphasis on
marketing other attractions in the area. Thus market potential is there, and both areas are viable and
could to better than at present. It is considered that Port Elizabeth could support two permitted
operators. However, there is concern that the density of whales may not be high enough to make two
operations viable.
The Border-Kei area, around East London, has a fair number of Humpback Whales, but other
species are relatively rare, and there are not many other marine attractions. The coastline lacks
sheltered bays and sea conditions are relatively rough. This is an important aspect of success
particularly in the face of the fact that most foreign visitors, the mainstay of most whale watching
tours, tend to be elderly and have shown a demand for less adventurous river tours. East London
however does have adequate launching facilities and may hold some promise for boat-based whale
watching. The importance of domestic tourists in the region was highlighted as a potential constraint
on demand for tours. Boat-based whale watching may not be particularly viable here, and permit
applications from this area should be carefully considered. Shore-based whale watching was
identified as an important coastal attraction.
The Wild Coast also lacks sheltered bays, and as the name suggests, suffers from particularly rough
seas and changeable conditions which make operations fairly risky. The paucity of good launching
sites exacerbates these problems. Marine tourism is at its most viable during the Sardine Run, which
forms the ‘anchor attraction’, but the season is very short, and thus whale watching would probably
only be viable if done as an add-on to a broad-based tourism business. Growth in marine tours linked
to the Sardine Run, particularly due to its increasing fame overseas, was considered good but is
centred on areas with developed infrastructure and accommodation facilities such as Port St Johns.
The majority of the market remains domestic, in the form of self-drive tourists, hikers and campers,
who are less likely to be interested in organised tours. The availability of freely accessible shorebased
whale watching may also be a factor constraining demand for boat-based tours. The growth
potential for the Wild Coast area is probably minimal and limited to areas with sufficient accessibility
to the tourism market, such as Port St Johns. Areas north of Port St Johns are considered to have
extremely low potential due to the lack of any tourism nodes and limited infrastructure.
The Hibiscus Coast, as with much of KZN, is built on coastal tourism. Marine tours are popular and
demand has generally been increasing over time, especially with the recent popularity of the Sardine
Run. This demand is primarily from foreigners (ca. 80%) and aimed at open sea trips to view the
shoals and related fauna. Domestic tourists are largely linked to inshore scenic trips which are more
family-oriented. The majority of operators currently offer the latter scenic tour with associated whale
watching when available. The main seasons for these latter are however around school holidays and
long weekends. There is however little demand for a dedicated whale watching tour as yet but would
be expected to increase over time as operators sought to diversify from the generalised scenic tours
on offer. Tourism in this area is dominated by domestic tourists, and the area does not have as many
complementary attractions for international tourists as areas further north. Neverthelss, this area
does support illegal operators and the possibility of an additional permit could be further investigated.
Tourism in Durban Metro and areas immediately adjacent, including the Dolphin Coast, are
dominated by coastal tourism. Durban also acts as the gateway to the region, with a large proportion
of tourists having to at least pass through the city en route to other destinations. Marine tours in the
area are currently not in high demand, with few operators in existence. The main attraction is beachbased
“relaxation” and related activities such as swimming and surfing. The main marine tours are
66