Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, Tobermory, Isle of Mull, Scotland

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 the coun-try’s number one wildlife attraction and with 11,770 km of coastline the potential for the Scottish industry is huge. In rural areas it can provide as much as 12 % of local income. During the tourist season of 2000, questionnaires and telephone interviews were used to investigate the sustainability of Scottish whale-watching. 48 operators cooperated providing economic and environmental information. Most operators were found to be local people (72.4%), supporting five or less full-time equivalent jobs (86.4%). Over half of those questioned (63.2%) had alternative incomes and no formal training in wildlife tourism or business management (70.8%); 89.5 % of respondents stated that they follow a code of conduct. The East Coast and Western Isles show the best-perceived trends in tourist numbers. Whale-watching in Scotland is shown to have potential for growth but a need to be regulated and managed from within the industry to ensure environmental and economic sustainability into the future