Whale Watching Worldwide

Acknowledgements:
Thanks to all eight operators.
Okinawa
Year Number of
whale
watchers
Main species: Large cetaceans:
minke whale, sperm whale (occasional)
Small cetaceans:
Dalls’ porpoise, harbour porpoise, orca, Pacific
white‐sided dolphin, short‐finned pilot whale
Tourists:
International 5%
Domestic 95%
Types of tours: Boat‐based
Average adult ticket price: $72
Estimated employment
24
numbers:
Main whale watch season: May to October
AAGR Number of
operators
Direct
expenditure
Indirect
expenditure
Total
expenditure
1998 7,000 N/A N/A N/A N/A $178,294
2008 20,000 5.4% 20 $986,667 $2,900,000 $3,886,667
Whale Watch Locations:
01: Zamami and Okinawa main island
Okinawa’s whale watching industry is focused on the Okinawa main
island and on nearby Zamami Island. Boat‐based trips run from
January to March to see humpback whales on their breeding
grounds. The Zamami Whale Watching Association has helped to
set up two lookouts on the island where whales can also be seen
during the season.
Operators are mainly dive shops that also run whale watching trips
during the three‐month season. There are about 20 main
operators, though tens of others may run a whale watching trip if
they have sufficient numbers. As the winter season is a quiet time for the dive shops, whale watching
provides a welcome activity for these businesses.
Main species:
Tourists:
Large cetaceans:
humpback whale
International 5%
Domestic 95%
Types of tours: Boat‐based, some land‐based viewing
Average adult ticket price: $49
Estimated employment
numbers:
100
Main whale watch season: January to March
140