Whale Watching Worldwide

Queensland
Year Number of
whale
watchers
AAGR Number of
operators
Direct
expenditure
Indirect
expenditure
Total
expenditure
1998 154,540 N/A 42 $4,222,000 $17,500,000 $21,722,000
2003 229,168 5.6% 43 $7,341,498 $54,879,789 $62,221,288
2008 349,251 8.5% 31 49 $10,874,783 $46,208,441 $57,083,224
Whale Watch Locations:
01: Great Barrier Reef
02: Hervey Bay
03: Tin Can Bay
04: Stradbroke Island
05: Moreton Bay
06: Gold Coast
Queensland offers a variety of whale watching experiences,
including boat and land‐based whale watching, swim‐with and
dolphin feeding. Since 1998, whale watching in Queensland has
grown at an average annual rate of 8.5% and in 2008, the state
hosted nearly 350,000 whale watching tourists, representing 21% of
Australia’s total figure. Hervey Bay and Moreton Bay continue to be significant areas for whale watching
tourism and Hervey Bay continues to hold an annual whale festival in August, although Hervey Bay has seen
a decline in whale watching numbers since 1998, when numbers plateaued. Some have indicated that the
expansion in whale watching at other locations along the southern coast of Queensland has impacted on
numbers at Hervey Bay, as people can go whale watching closer to large population and tourist centres.
The majority of whale watching in Queensland still occurs in the south of the state, between Hervey Bay and
the Gold Coast. Attracting 280,000 whale watchers per annum, the industry in this area has grown
significantly since the last major study was undertaken in 2003, when it was estimated that there were
159,000 whale watchers; the main growth has occurred in the Gold Coast and at Tin Can Bay. In the Gold
Coast, a new whale watching industry has emerged since 1998, and is estimated to have taken over 30,000
whale watching passengers in 2008. In Tin Can Bay, there is also dolphin feeding industry that was not
included in 2003 or 1998 studies. This is one of only three formal dolphin feeding locations in Australia, the
others being at Tangalooma Resort on Moreton Island National Park in Queensland and Monkey Mia in
Western Australia.
Whale watching in South Queensland focuses on humpback whales, Indo‐Pacific bottlenose dolphins and
Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins.
Between July and November, boat‐based whale watching trips are offered in Hervey Bay, Moreton Bay and
the Gold Coast. Boat‐based trips generally last for two to four hours with an average adult ticket price of
$64.
Land‐based dolphin feeding activities are offered from Tangalooma Resort on Moreton Island as well as at
Barnacles Café near the Tin Can Bay boat ramp. Land‐based observation of migrating humpbacks also takes
place from Point Arkwright and Point Perry, close to Coolum Beach, as well as from Fraser Island and
Stradbroke Island.
31 AAGR from 1998 to 2008
164