Whale Watching Worldwide

As the political situation in Kenya improves and international tourism recovers, the whale watching industry
is likely to recover too, with operators expressing enthusiasm for the industry, despite obvious
disappointment at the events of 2008.
Acknowledgments:
Nina Wambiji (Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute), Graham Corti (Global Vision International) and three
operators.
Madagascar
Year Number of
whale
watchers
AAGR Number of
operators
Direct
expenditure
Indirect
expenditure
Total
expenditure
1991 150 N/A N/A $6,000 $15,000 $21,000
1994 7,500 268.4% N/A $200,000 $910,000 $1,110,000
1998 4,000 ‐14.5% 12 $120,000 $554,000 $774,000
2008 15,928 14.8% 41 $814,495 $1,011,133 $1,825,628
Capital City: Antananarivo
Whale Watch Locations:
01: Île Sainte‐Marie
02: Maroantsetra, Antongil Bay
03: Toliara
The majority of whale watching tours in Madagascar involve hotels
running organised trips for guests. Local boat owners also conduct
less formal whale watching trips when demand exists. The industry
is focused on the humpback migration between June and October,
but dolphins are also seen opportunistically during whale watching
trips.
There has been significant growth in the whale watching industry in Madagascar since 1998, when only 12
operators took 4,000 tourists whale watching. In 2008, there were an estimated 15,928 boat‐based whale
watchers. This represents an annual growth of 14.8%. This growth correlates closely with growth in
inbound tourism to the island country, which grew at 13.2% per annum (World Tourism Organization, 2006),
putting it in the top five fastest growing countries for tourism in Africa between 1995 and 2004.
The main area for whale watching in Madagascar is the Île Sainte‐Marie, off the island’s northeast coast.
Approximately 13 operators took an estimated 14,200 tourists on whale watching tours in the waters
between Île Sainte‐Marie and mainland Madagascar in 2008. Whales migrate through these waters for
calving. The average vessel capacity for these tours is 10 passengers, although capacities range between 3
and 35 passengers. The large majority of vessels are small motorised boats and pirogues 17 , but some
operators also have larger boats and catamarans.
Trips generally last half a day, with an average ticket price for adults of $56. Whale watching activities also
exist in many other locations across Madagascar, but usually on a smaller scale. At least 13 operators are
based in Maroantsetra and 7 in Toliara, but the industries in these two locations are relatively small, with
fewer than 1,000 whale watching tourists in 2008.
17
A flat‐bottomed fishing boat traditionally propelled by paddles or small sails. Some operators still offer sail propelled
pirogues although most are now motorised.
56