Whale Watching Worldwide

was commissioned by the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, IFAW and Global Ocean. Due to the
comprehensive nature of this recent report, we have relied on the 2006 numbers in the following section for
all South American countries.
In the table above, we have also estimated the size of the whale watching industry in 2008. We used
previous growth rates and tourism arrival growth figures from the World Tourism Organisation to make an
estimate for each country. However, in the following section, only 2006 data are presented.
Acknowledgements:
Erich Hoyt and Miguel Iñíguez for their fine work in compiling the Latin American whale watch report from which these
data are largely drawn.
References:
Hoyt, E & Iñíguez, M 2008, ‘The State of Whale Watching in Latin America’, WDCS, Chippenham, UK; IFAW, Yarmouth
Port, USA; and Global Ocean, London, 60 pp..
Summary of country results
Country: Number of whale watchers Growth between
1998 and 2006
1998 2008 AAGR
Argentina 84,164 244,432 14.3%
Bolivia None 400 6.1%
Brazil 167,107 228,946 4%
Chile 3,300 13,720 19.5%
Colombia Minimal 35,000 27.5%
Ecuador 11,610 42,900 17.7%
Falkland Islands Minimal 100 N/A
Peru 531 586 1.2%
Suriname None 1,906 28.9%
Uruguay None 4,800 44.7%
Venezuela Minimal 9,757 58.1%
REGIONAL TOTAL: 266,712 582,547 10.3%
NB: Where an industry had ‘None’ or ‘Minimal’ for whale watchers in 1998, a figure of 250 has been used to calculate
AAGR.
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