Whale Watching Worldwide

Acknowledgements:
Two operators
Main whale watch season: July to October
References:
Dolphin Watching Guidelines, Government of Mauritius, accessed March 2009, available online at:
http://www.gov.mu/portal/site/tourist/menuitem.e2330d7a351ad42dadbea610a0208a0c/
Mayotte
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 None N/A None None None None
2008 10,000 ~44.6% 5 $670,919 $882,000 $1,552,919
Capital City: Mamoudzou
Mayotte has five whale watching operators that runs trips mostly
for expatriate workers from France, the United States, The
Netherlands and Belgium. Trips are boat‐based with vessels
generally accommodating around ten passengers. Trips are offered
daily during the humpback migration season (July and November),
while outside of this season, operators run several trips per week,
which include opportunistic dolphin watching as part of the cruises.
Other cetaceans sighted in the waters around Mayotte including
blue whales, sperm whales, Indo‐Pacific humpback dolphins,
pantropical spotted dolphins, Fraser’s dolphins, short‐finned pilot whales and orcas.
The industry has grown from nothing in 1998 in the Whale Watching 2001 report to an estimated 10,000
boat‐based whale watchers in 2008, representing an annual growth of nearly 45%, the second highest
growth rate in Africa after Mauritius. The industry is promoted by the national tourism body, with the
official tourism guide highlighting whale watching as an activity in Mayotte.
Currently an overseas collectivity of France, in March 2009 Mayotte voted in a referendum to become an
overseas department, beginning in 2011. This will result in a deeper level of integration into France and the
European Union.
Main species: Large cetaceans:
humpback whale
Small cetaceans:
bottlenose dolphin
Tourists:
International 60%
Domestic 40%
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