Whale Watching Worldwide

Iceland
Year Number of
whale
watchers
AAGR Number of
operators
Direct
expenditure
Indirect
expenditure
Total
expenditure
1991 100 N/A 1 $17,000 $43,000 $60,000
1994 200 26% 4 $32,000 $114,000 $146,000
1998 30,330 251% 12 $2,958,000 $3,512,000 $6,470,000
2008 114,500 14% 10 $6,618,087 $10,090,900 $16,708,987
Capital City: Reykjavík
Whale Watch Locations:
01: Reykjavík
02: Húsavík
03: Vestmann Islands
In 1998, Iceland had already shown an explosive growth in the
whale and dolphin watching industry compared to 1994 (251% per
year). Since then, the number of whale watchers has continued to
grow, from 30,330 in 1998 to 114,500 in 2008 (an annual average
increase of 14%), although the number of tour operators remains
relatively stable. Whale watching activity is concentrated in
Reykjavík (which accounts for 51% of whale watch visitors) and
Húsavík in the north (36%). Other locations are Dalvík and Hauganes, also in the country’s north, which
account for 6% of whale watchers; Olafsvik and Drangsnes in the northwest, with 5%; and the Vestmann
Islands in the south, with around 2%.
Whale watching is well established in Iceland, with nine tour operators offering dedicated cetacean watching
trips from April to October (one of them operates during June and July only, focusing on the northern
bottlenose whales from Akureyri in the north), along with one opportunistic operator. Recently, one
operator has also reportedly started to offer trips on weekends in winter from Reykjavík, targeting white‐
beaked dolphins and humpbacks. Trips last approximately three hours and cost an average of $60 per adult.
Most operators utilise large vessels, some of them with a capacity of up to 145 passengers, but the average
vessel capacity is 59 passengers.
The best time to go whale watching is from June – August. Iceland is home to diverse populations of whales,
although many of them only spend the summer months in Icelandic waters according to the Whale Museum
in Húsavík. Up to 11 species can frequently be spotted, including minke, blue and humpback whales, white‐
beaked dolphins, orcas, sperm whales, northern bottlenose whales, long‐finned pilot whales, harbour
porpoises and, according to one of the operators, less frequently sei and fin whales.
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