Promoting Sustainable Tourism

One of HWDT’s areas of work is the promotion of the sustainable use of the marine environment. In the past, mans uses of the oceans top predators have often been exploitative (e.g. whaling and shark finning). We are now seeing a growing interest in wildlife tourism globally and the diverse range of Scottish habitats and species here make Scotland one of the prime nature destinations in Europe. Scotland is therefore well placed to take advantage of this growing interest. In particular this applies to the west coast of Scotland, as the waters around the isle of Mull include some of the best whale watching areas in Europe.

How did UK whale watching get started?

Mull has been a leader in developing marine wildlife tourism for over 10 years. It was the first place in the UK to see the start of commercial whale watching. In 1989 an innovative enterprise was started - The Mull Cetacean Project. This was set up by Richard Fairbairns after observing minke whales around the Mull coast. From this point Mull has led the field in raising the profile of UK cetaceans through out the world and is now one of the UK premier whale watching sites.

Why whale watching is important to Scotland?

HWDT has conducted several studies into how this industry has benefited Scotland. The following figures are from one of HWDT’s ecotourism reports. For a full list of papers please click here

Scotland's tourism trade grosses £2.5 billion annually and supports 180,000 jobs. Whale-watching is an important part of this activity. Whales and dolphins are highlighted as the country's number one wildlife attraction and an estimated quarter of million tourists were involved with whale-tourism activities annually in West Scotland. With 11,770 km of coastline the potential for the Scottish marine tourism industry is huge. On the west coast of Scotland the direct economic income from whale-watching activities was estimated to be £1,767,971 per annum. The associated expenditure (accommodation, travel, food, etc . . .) from tourists visiting the region to specifically go whale-watching represents an additional £5.1 million in tourism income for West Scotland. In addition, 16% of whale-watching tourists stayed in the region extra nights as a result of whale-watching, which represents a further £0.9 million in additional tourism income.

The total income therefore generated by whale-tourism in rural West Scotland was estimated to be £7.8 million.

Not only does whale watching contribute to the national economy but it also has important implications for the small rural communities in terms of employment and raising the awareness of local marine wildlife. In rural areas it can provide as much as 12% of local income. From a survey of marine operators it was found that most people employed in the industry are local people (72.4%), and most outfits are small businesses supporting five or less full-time equivalent jobs (86.4%). In West Scotland, 115 jobs are provided by whale-watching tourism and 47% of whale-watching operators considered the industry to be important to the local economy.

On Mull, the tourism industry is the largest employer on the Isle of Mull, and whale watching is a key component of this sector, contributing a direct value of over £0.65million per year.

In addition to these economic benefits, the development of a successful whale watching industry has illustrated that a significant income can be generated from non exploitative use of cetaceans and sharks. This lends support to the anti-whaling lobby with the simple financial message that these animals are now worth more to us alive than dead. For more information on whaling click here

The main principle of sustainability is that equal consideration of the environmental, economic and social impacts of a particular activity, in this case, wildlife tourism are taken into account. A key feature when developing a sustainable industry is that the host communities’ priorities and concerns are taken into account. To this end HWDT works within the local community and with wildlife operators to help develop an industry which will deliver a profitable livelihood whilst working to conserve the very whales, dolphins and porpoises that people come here to see. Many of the marine operators assist HWDT by collecting data during their trips.

For more information on this project please click here

Click here for more information on operators who run whale watching marine wildlife watching trips on the west coast of Scotland and for information on choosing a responsible and sustainable trip.