Whale Watching Worldwide

South Africa
Year Number of
whale
watchers
AAGR Number of
operators
Direct
expenditure
Indirect
expenditure
Total
expenditure
1991 6,000 N/A N/A None None None
1994 25,000 61% N/A None None None
1998 510,000 113% 15 $311,000 $68,875,000 $69,186,000
2008 567,367 1.1% 12 $2,762,427 $58,780,707 $61,543,133
Capital City: Pretoria
Whale Watch Locations:
01: Hermanus
02: Plettenberg Bay
03: Cape Town
04: Gansbaai
05: Lambert’s Bay
06: Knysa
07: St. Lucia
08: Simon’s Town
09: Kleinmond
South Africa is a popular destination for both boat and land‐based whale watching with fantastic whale
viewing opportunities along the coastline. In 2008, we see a slight increase in overall numbers of whale
watch tourists compared to 1998, at a rate of 1.1% per annum over the decade. However, boat‐based whale
watchers have dramatically increased over the last decade in South Africa, at a rate of 14% per annum, as
was projected in the last global report and following the licensing of boat‐based whale watching in 1998.
In 1998, fifteen boat‐based operators took 6,176 whale watchers and generated $174,500 in direct
expenditure and $1,000,800 in indirect expenditure. In 2008, twelve boat‐based whale operators took an
estimated 48,000 whale watchers who generated $2,762,427 in direct expenditure and $8,192,104 in
indirect expenditure. This represents an AAGR in boat‐based whale watcher numbers between 1998 and
2008 of 14%.
Boat‐based whale watching predominantly occurs from Hermanus, Plettenberg Bay, Cape Town, Gansbaai,
Lamberts Bay, Mosselbay, and Knysna in the Western Cape Province. The tours are mainly focused on the
southern right whale, although other species such as humpbacks, Bryde’s whale, orcas and dolphins are seen
opportunistically. Heaviside’s dolphin, a species endemic to the western coast of South Africa and Nambia is
seen in Lambert’s Bay. Tours are also run from St. Lucia in the KwaZulu Natal Province, and focus mainly on
migrating humpback whales.
Most tours also offer opportunistic sightings of other wildlife including seals, pelagic birds and oceanic
sharks. Boat‐based trips are generally half‐day trips with vessel capacities ranging between ten and sixty
passengers. The average ticket price is $68 for adults and $35 for children.
All of the boat‐based operators in South Africa are required to hold permits issued by the Department of
Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT). According to DEAT, three ‘experimental’ dolphin watching
permits will also be issued within the next five years in the Plettenberg Bay area and further expansion of
the industry is planned for Port Elizabeth, Durban and the south coast of KwaZulu Natal.
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