Whale Watching Worldwide

North Island
Year Number of
whale
watchers
AAGR Number of
operators
Direct
expenditure
Indirect
expenditure
Total
expenditure
2004 117,900 N/A 35 $7,009,564 $8,965,815 $15,975,379
2008 147,364 5.8% 34 $11,902,600 $16,779,022 $28,681,622
Capital City: Wellington
Whale Watch Locations:
01: Bay of Islands
02: Bay of Plenty
03: Hauraki Gulf
The main cetacean watching region in the North Island of New
Zealand is the Bay of Islands, attracting around 65% of the North
Island’s total whale watch tourists and focusing predominantly on
bottlenose dolphins. Several operators offer ‘swim with the
dolphins’ experiences. Trips in the North Island are boat‐based and
take place all year round, with the peak season for dolphin
swimming and watching being the summer months. Trips typically run for two to four hours and cost
around $60‐70. Other popular cetacean watching locations around the North Island are the Bay of Plenty
and the Hauraki Gulf.
The main species are bottlenose and short‐beaked common dolphins with occasional sightings of orcas and
Bryde’s whales. One operator claims to sight Bryde’s whales on around 50% of trips, but undertakes trips
based predominantly on dolphins.
Interestingly, the number of operators in the North Island and particularly the Bay of Islands area appears to
have declined slightly since the last study in 2004. The industry in this region appears to be consolidating,
with the largest operator taking over several other businesses and now accounting for approximately 50% of
the industry in the North Island.
Main species: Large cetaceans:
Bryde’s whale
Small cetaceans:
bottlenose dolphin, short‐beaked common
dolphin, orca
Tourists:
International 85%
Domestic 15%
Types of tours: Boat‐based, typically short trips following
pods of dolphins
Average adult ticket price: $120
Estimated employment
237
numbers:
Main whale watch season: November to March
188