Whale Watching Worldwide

Acknowledgements:
Thanks to the operators and Nunavut tourism.
México
Year Number of
whale
watchers
Main species: Large cetaceans:
bowhead whale
Small cetaceans:
beluga, narwhal
Tourists:
International 30%
Domestic 70%
Types of tours: Boat‐based trips, kayaking and swim‐with
belugas. Some land‐based opportunities
around Churchill.
Around the other areas of the Arctic a range
of tours exist from canoe to helicopter trips.
Average adult ticket price: $70 (For basic boat‐based trips in Churchill)
Estimated employment
numbers:
40
Main whale watch season: June to September
AAGR Number of
operators
Direct
expenditure
Indirect
expenditure
Total
expenditure
1991 2,000 N/A N/A $3,000,000 $200,000 $3,200,000
1994 12,000 81.7% N/A $10,000,000 $5,000,000 $15,000,000
1998 108,206 73.3% N/A $8,736,000 $32,902,000 $41,638,000
2006 169,904 5.8% 206 $9,077,843 $76,401,220 $85,479,063
Capital City: Mexico City
Whale Watch Locations:
01: Baja California
02: Yucatán peninsula
03: Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas
Whale watching in México began with American cruise ships in the
1970s, while more locally based operations began in the late 1980s,
bringing economic benefits to local operators. Since then the local
industry has grown strongly and operators are now spread around
the Baja peninsula (Baja California), the mainland west coast and
also the Yucatán peninsula on the Caribbean coast. Operators vary
from small boats (pangas), which can be hired locally, to large live‐
aboard vessels.
Baja remains México’s most important whale watching region, accounting for 85% of the country’s whale
watchers. Visitors come to see gray whales, which mate and calve in the lagoons of the peninsula. On the
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