Whale Watching Worldwide

New South Wales
Year Number of
whale
watchers
AAGR Number of
operators
Direct
expenditure
Indirect
expenditure
Total
expenditure
1998 206,000 N/A 73 $3,565,000 $9,211,000 $12,776,000
2003 936,630 20.8% 28 $6,596,423 $56,030,066 $62,626,489
2008 811,673 14.7% 32 40 $12,932,773 $52,428,922 $65,361,765
Whale Watch Locations:
01: Byron Bay
02: Port Stephens
03: Huskisson
04: Sydney
05: Merimbula
06: Eden
With an industry stretching the length of the coast, from Byron Bay
in the far north all the way to Eden in the south, New South Wales
(NSW) has a large and diverse whale watching industry. The state
now accounts for just over 800,000 whale watchers, or 50% of all
whale watching tourists in Australia. This is up from just over
200,000 whale watchers in 1998, representing an average annual growth rate of 14.7% across the decade.
The decade has seen whale watching spread out along the coast, with new regions such as Coffs Harbour,
Port Macquarie and Sydney now offering trips. Of these, Sydney ‐ being the largest population centre and a
popular tourist destination ‐ has seen the development of a significant industry estimated to have taken over
25,000 whale watching passengers in 2008.
Since 2003, whale watching in NSW has declined at an average annual rate of nearly 3%, but this is due to
decreased estimates for land‐based whale watching rather than any real drop in formal boat‐based whale
watching, an estimate that’s supported by the fact that operator numbers have grown substantially in that
period. The number of boat‐based whale watchers grew at an average annual rate of 2.6% over this period,
from 319,706 in 2003 to 363,940 in 2008.
Dolphin watching accounts for a significant proportion of all whale watching in NSW, with significant dolphin
based tourism at Byron Bay, Port Stephens, Huskisson (Jervis Bay), Eden and Merimbula. Trips focused
solely on dolphins generally last less than two hours, while those focused on large cetaceans (and general
eco tours) can last up to three hours. The average ticket price for dolphin‐only watching trips is $18 for
adults and $10 for children.
Of those targeting large cetaceans, operators all along the coast offer seasonal dedicated whale watching
tours, usually between June and November, focused on the humpback migration. Some operators also offer
whale watching aboard high‐speed vessels, offering dedicated whale watching trips with a shorter travelling
time to locate whales. Average prices for large cetacean watching trips are higher, at $51 for adults and $26
for children.
In terms of species, the main focus of the industry is the northern and southern migration of humpback
whales and Indo‐Pacific bottlenose dolphins. The northern migration of humpback whales occurs during
June and July with the southern migration taking place between September and November. Some areas
32 AAGR from 1998 to 2008
166