Tourists getting close to whales, is it what whale-watching is all about?

✍ Scribed by Mark B Orams

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 2000
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 516 KB
• Volume: 21
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0261-5177
• DOI: 10.1016/s0261-5177(00)00006-6

✦ Synopsis

To date research on whale-watching has tended to focus on impacts on the whales. Management approaches often rely on minimum approach distances. An associated assumption is that whale-watchers wish to get close to whales. Studies of motivation for other recreational activities show that humans seldom undertake recreational activities for simplistic reasons. Thus, this study was developed to determine the in#uences over whale-watchers' enjoyment, more speci"cally, to assess the importance of the geographical proximity of whales. Twelve whale-watch cruises at Tangalooma, Australia were surveyed and 704 questionnaires analysed. Results showed the number of whales and their behaviour, numbers of fellow passengers, cruise duration, boat construction and sea-sickness in#uenced satisfaction. The geographical proximity of the whales was not a major in#uence. Many whale-watchers (35 per cent) returned satis"ed even when no whales were sighted. Whale-watching is not simply about getting close to whales, many other variables are important. A better understanding of the watchers, as well as the whales, will assist in the sustainable management of this growing tourism industry.