More than a quarter of a million people went on a whale watching expedition last year, nearly all, or 99% were foreign travellers. Between 20-25% of all foreign visitors to Iceland go on a whale watching expedition. The whale watching industry in Iceland has grown by 15-34% annually since 2012.
Read more: Former whale hunting boat becomes an Eco-friendly whale watching vessel
According to figures compiled by the Icelandic Travel Industry Association for the local newspaper Fréttablaðið the number of people who go on whale watching expeditions has grown by 25-44,000 every year since 2012. The annual increase is larger than the total number of people who went whale watching in 2000.
The figures show that as the number of guests has grown the industry has expanded, with new whale watching companies being established every year and more people being employed by the industry. In the summer of 2005 100 people were employed directly by whale watching firms. This figure stood at more than 250 last year.
The Icelandic Travel Industry Association argues that this growth calls for the extension of the Faxaflói whale sanctuary. It is unacceptable, the association argues, that whale hunting is taking place in close proximity to where the whale watching boats are operating.
More than a quarter of a million people went on a whale watching expedition last year, nearly all, or 99% were foreign travellers. Between 20-25% of all foreign visitors to Iceland go on a whale watching expedition. The whale watching industry in Iceland has grown by 15-34% annually since 2012.
Read more: Former whale hunting boat becomes an Eco-friendly whale watching vessel
According to figures compiled by the Icelandic Travel Industry Association for the local newspaper Fréttablaðið the number of people who go on whale watching expeditions has grown by 25-44,000 every year since 2012. The annual increase is larger than the total number of people who went whale watching in 2000.
The figures show that as the number of guests has grown the industry has expanded, with new whale watching companies being established every year and more people being employed by the industry. In the summer of 2005 100 people were employed directly by whale watching firms. This figure stood at more than 250 last year.
The Icelandic Travel Industry Association argues that this growth calls for the extension of the Faxaflói whale sanctuary. It is unacceptable, the association argues, that whale hunting is taking place in close proximity to where the whale watching boats are operating.
