Guest guest Posted August 25, 2000 Report Share Posted August 25, 2000 Forwarded message: " Ferguson-Mitchell, Jennifer " <jfm International Fund for Animal Welfare, 411 Main St., Yarmouth Port, MA 02675 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Jennifer Ferguson-Mitchell (IFAW) August 22, 2000 Tel: (508) 744-2076 or Mobile (508) 737-1584 Editor's note: For further information, downloadable images, or to view the video news release, visit: http://www.ifaw.org/press/ma081800.html IFAW Global Report on Whale Watching Released - Industry Worth $1Billion and Growing (Cape Cod, MA - 22 August) The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW -- www.ifaw.org) has today released a comprehensive, 175-page global report on the economic boom of whale watching, citing it as a billion-dollar industry. Internationally renowned whale researcher Erich Hoyt authors the report, which is titled Whale Watching 2000: Worldwide Tourism Numbers, Expenditures, and Expanding Socioeconomic Benefits. The International Fund for Animal Welfare has led the global initiative in whale watching research and promotion over the last 15 years. Recently, IFAW has carried out many activities in this area, including hosting international seminars, developing local whale watching guidelines, creating educational material for schoolchildren, and distributing safe operating information for recreational and commercial boaters. " We have found that whale watching is making a dramatic economic contribution to tourism and local coastal communities worldwide, " said IFAW President Fred O'Regan, from the organization's international headquarters on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The report notes that whale watching tourism expenditures more than doubled from 1994-1998; expenditures now are more than a billion dollars per year. In the US alone, more than 4.3 million people went whale watching in 1998, accounting for 47% of the global whale watching industry. Since the last global survey on whale watching, conducted in 1994, the number of people who took part in a whale watching trip grew 40%. At least 492 communities in 87 countries now have whale watching businesses, while since 1994, 22 countries have started whale watch tours. Africa has the fastest growth in whale watching of any continent. Central America and the West Indies are second, and Asia is third in growth. In addition to economic benefits, the whale watching industry makes important educational, environmental, socioeconomic and scientific contributions. " This report is very exciting in that it highlights not only the growth of whale watching as an economically successful global industry, but that it signifies a growing global appreciation of whales and marine environments, " said Dr. Carole Carlson, IFAW Senior Marine Biologist and whale watching expert, from Provincetown, MA, once a whaling center and now home to one of the world's most prosperous whale watching industries. " The experience of whale watching is a magical one, " said Carlson. " After seeing whales in their natural environment, many people return year after year, bringing their children with them to share the experience. " Jennifer Ferguson-Mitchell Manager, Communications IFAW -- International Fund for Animal Welfare International Headquarters 411 Main Street, Yarmouthport, MA 02675-1822 USA Tel: (508) 744-2076; Fax: (508) 744-2079; Cell: (508) 737-1584 visit our website at http://www.ifaw.org ! and check out our anti-whaling campaign at http://www.stopwhalingnow.com ! - -To submit a message to MARMAM, send it to: marmam -Please include your name and e-mail address in the body of the text of all submissions, and ensure your message has an appropriate subject heading (ie., not " Message for MARMAM " ) -To to MARMAM, send a message to: listserv saying: marmam Yourfirstname Yourlastname -To , send a message saying: unsub marmam (to the listserv address) -To contact the MARMAM editors, write to: marmamed -MARMAM Editorial Policy & FAQ: http://is.dal.ca/~whitelab/marmam.htm -MARMAM archives: http://www.escribe.com/science/marmam/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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