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The increased number of permits discussed above should be seen as synonymous with an expansion
in the number of boats (i.e. each permit is for one boat). There is no economic reason for this to
mean that the additional permits should not go to existing permit holders. Indeed, in New Zealand,
permit holders are limited to area but not number of boats (Baxter 1994), with the effect that they
ostensibly have the incentive to protect their own resource base. In contrast, multiple users working
in the same area would be expected to compete, which would create greater pressure on the
resource, than if the same number of boats was operated by a single owner. Furthermore, the
investment required for expansion could be substantially less than if new permits were issued to new
operators. It is also important to note that current demand is at least partly a function of successful
marketing efforts by existing permit holders. Thus care must be taken not to penalise successful
operators by setting up competitors in their areas. Allowing existing permit holders to have additional
permitted boats rewards these operators instead.
In general, in areas with high potential that have vacant permits, existing permits should be allocated
before additional permits are advertised. In areas where potential is poor, any applications for permits
should be very carefully assessed to ensure that the operation would be viable.
7.5 The importance of standards and marketing
This study has found that marketing is a powerful tool that can generate substantial turnover in areas
that had previously been largely untouristed. Thus the inherent attractiveness of an area for whale
watching need not be the only factor determining the potential economic value of a boat-based whale
watching area. With imagination, new markets can be created. For example, the West Coast
resource, currently very under-utilised partly due to the paucity of tourists in the area, could become
viable if marketed with complementary attractions as a unique experience. Different areas provide
different attractions to subtlety different markets a fact which can be taken advantage of in marketing.
The creation of a market is obviously of paramount importance: whale-watchers are created by
marketing. Marketing is not only important for attracting customers to individual businesses, but at a
broader level is critical for the industry as a whole. Thus marketing efforts by NGOs such as
SABBWWA should yield financial returns to the operators and marketing by government should yield
economic returns in the form of increased economic value generated by the industry. SABBWWA
has played a pivotal role in marketing South Africa’s whale watching resources in general, something
which has probably been vital to many of the smaller less marketed operators. Marketing by
government has not been sufficient, however.
The future potential of the industry cannot be reached without maintaining standards at globally
competitive levels and marketing the resource and service. The quality of the package offered is
important to ensuring the sustainability of the industry. If standards are not maintained, whale
watching will not gain or maintain a prominent role in attracting visitors to South Africa, and its
economic value will decline. Thus the pursuit of increased turnover should consider the long-term
trade-offs involved, for example, in boat size and visitor experience, and the returns to investment in
providing a high quality versus low quality experience.
7.6 Sustainability limits
It is important to note that, while we have considered the quality of the whale resource as a factor that
would contribute to the marketability of boat-based whale watching, and hence its economic value,
this report explicitly does not address the potential limitations on numbers of permits that may need to
be imposed in order to protect the resource. Thus, the future potential of an area will ultimately be
limited by the need to protect the resource itself.
Another issue that needs to be considered is whether boat-based whale watching should be carried
out in Marine Protected Areas. Some argue that these should be sanctuaries for whales, while others
suggest that permits should be concentrated in these areas where they can be better controlled. The
length of coast included in protected areas has increased considerably since the permit areas were
devised. Permit areas currently encroach on major marine protected areas in the Greater St Lucia
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