by Erich Hoyt and Miguel Iñíguez, 2007-2008

Introduction

Whale watching – commercial tours to see whales, dolphins and porpoises – have expanded dramatically in recent years, with a 12.1% average annual growth rate through the 1990s (Hoyt 2001). As of 2000, an estimated 10 million people were going whale watching in 87 countries and overseas territories, spending $1.25 billion USD. Rough estimates for 2007 are that 12-15 million people are now going whale watching, spending at least $1.5 billion USD.

Whale watching is an important alternative to whaling, earning significant sustainable income to local communities. Whale watching provides a strong incentive for communities and countries to maintain healthy populations of cetaceans. Whale watching at its best also offers a comprehensive suite of other values: notably educational, scientific and conservation values which can be even more valuable long-term than the substantial tourism receipts. For the future of whales and dolphins and their conservation, it is essential that responsible, high quality whale watching be encouraged to succeed at the highest level.

This 48 page publication investigates and reports on the full socioeconomic value of whale watching in all the Latin American countries. On the one hand, this will help whale watch communities, boat operators, visitor centres and look-out stations to market themselves within the region and internationally for the benefit of conservation, education, science and local economies. It will also quantify for governments the real value of whale watching which will be useful in international debates in such fora as the International Whaling Commission, CMS and others. Finally, it will allow all to see the value of a sustainable ecotourism approach, as the socioeconomic benefits are clearly much greater, whilst the impact on or cost to the whales is greatly reduced.

Rationale

This project provides concrete help to Latin American countries forging their identity as a whale watch rather than a whaling region. The publication will contribute to helping whale watching and cetacean conservation within Latin America. IWC commissioners from Latin America will have something solid to look at in order to see the possibilities in their own and other countries. Countries that are not yet part of the Latin American “conservation block” will be able to see the true value of whales in neighbouring countries, which may encourage them to join.

The underlying political message of this publication is that whales and dolphins have considerable value to people in local communities – much more than does whaling. To be highly esteemed and considered by bureaucrats and others based in the region, whale watching must be able to show precise value and strong prospects for growth. Of course, there are also important contributions that this publication can make to shape whale watching by encouraging the more educational, scientific and conservation aspects.

Outline

The report will follow the format of Whale Watching 2001 by Erich Hoyt, published by IFAW and Whale Watching 1995 by Erich Hoyt, published by WDCS but will focus only on Latin America.