Whale Watching Worldwide

Papua New Guinea
Year Number of
whale
watchers
AAGR Number of
operators
Direct
expenditure
Indirect
expenditure
Total
expenditure
1991 None N/A None None None None
1994 None N/A None None None None
1998 Minimal N/A Minimal Minimal Minimal Minimal
2005 600 17% 15 $22,500 $0 $22,500
2008 644 9.9% 62 15 $24,159 $0 $24,159
Capital City: Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea (PNG) has a small niche tourism market for the
eco‐tourist type adventure traveler with some very high quality dive
and snorkeling opportunities. It also has a diverse cetacean
population including short‐finned pilot whales, orcas, minke whales,
spinner dolphins and bottlenose dolphins. Although there is no
dedicated whale watching industry in PNG, many operators take
advantage of its abundant cetacean species in an opportunistic
manner on dive trips.
Visitor arrivals in 2005 were around 69,000 63 . Our research
estimates a conservative figure of 644 opportunistic whale watchers in 2008 from approximately 15
operators. Most of these are dive operators across the many regions of PNG and this indicates an
approximate growth rate of 10% per annum from 1998 to 2008.
The high marine biodiversity in PNG is a significant drawing card for eco‐tourists. With such a rich and
unique array of cetaceans, the country has the potential to further attract whale watching tourists.
However, for now cetacean sightings still tend to occur on an opportunistic basis. In some areas resident
pods of dolphins are reliably seen, but often the biggest barrier to attracting tourists is the difficulty and
expense of accessing PNG regions.
Main species: Large cetaceans:
minke whale
Small cetaceans:
bottlenose dolphin, orca, short‐finned pilot
whale, spinner dolphin
Tourists:
International 90%
Domestic 10%
Types of tours: Boat‐based, multiple‐day trip, dedicated
Average adult ticket price: $37.50
Estimated employment
9
numbers:
Main whale watch season: Year‐round
62
AAGR from 1998 to 2008
63
PNG Tourism Promotion Authority 2005, ‘PNG – Short Term Visitors 2005’, accessed March 2006, available online at:
http://www.png.aqualagoon.com
193