The potential for marine wildlife tourism in Ireland

The island of Ireland is surrounded by some of the richest marine flora and fauna and most abundant populations of a wide range of marine species including, whales, dolphins, seals, sharks, turtles and seabirds in Europe. However, although the potential for marine wildlife tourism is huge it is considerably under-developed. Ireland has a lot of similarities in terms of species diversity and environmental conditions with Scotland. A number of studies have quantified the volume and value of wildlife tourism in Scotland and identified key areas for development. The Scottish Tourism and Environment Initiative co-funded with the Scottish Natural Heritage a study to assess the economic value of marine wildlife tourism in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland (Anon, 1998). This study estimated that total revenues generated by marine wildlife tourism in 1996 was in the order of £57 million and supported 2,670 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) jobs. A survey of whalewatching in West Scotland estimated 241,952 tourists were involved in whale-tourism activities annually in West Scotland and whalewatching alone generated direct incomes of £1,767,971 per annum and £7.8 million in whale-related tourism (Warburton et al. 2001). In remote coastal areas, whale-related tourism accounted for 12 % of the area’s total tourism income. Seal-watching in the UK was worth an estimated £4.75 million in direct revenue and up to £36 million in indirect revenues pe