Cashing in on Spinners: Revenue Estimates of Wild Dolphin-Swim Tourism in the Hawaiian Islands

Abstract

Wild dolphin-swim tourism has grown in specific locations where Hawaiian spinner dolphins (Stenella longirostris) have known resting habitat. The increased growth in dolphin-swim businesses has created an industry in Hawaii that earns an estimated $102 million (USD) annually in 2013. Semi-structured interviews with business owners, market research, and boat-based observations provide a platform for estimating revenue generated from dolphin tourism in two popular locations, Waianae, Oahu and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Island. A revenue analysis of dolphin-swim tourism is presented using a peak season and utilization rate model. These predictions offer an accountability exercise based on a series of assumptions regarding wild dolphin-swim demand and an annual estimate of the number of viewing participants and revenue earned. The results show that dolphin viewing companies are making a larger profit than dolphin-swim businesses by approximately $19 million (USD) per year, however, both avenues are generating large earnings. Sizable differences between businesses in Kona and Waianae are discussed. The average lifetime revenue generated by a dolphin in 2013 is estimated at $3,364,316 (USD) for Waianae and $1,608,882 (USD) for Kona, and is presented as a first step in scenario analysis for policy makers looking to implement management in the bays where tourism occurs. This study offers the first revenue estimates of spinner dolphin tourism in Hawaii, which can provide context for further discussion on the impact and economic role of the dolphin-swim industry in the state.

A long‐term shift in the summer distribution of Hector’s dolphins is correlated with an increase in cruise ship tourism

“…Orams, 1997) and enable local economic gain (e.g. Wiener et al, 2020). However, a body of evidence demonstrating the impacts of vessels and swimmers on target species has been growing since 1989 (Baker & Herman, 1989; Fumagalli et al, 2021).…”

Better educational signage could reduce disturbance of resting dolphins

“…The preferred daytime habitat is rare [ 13 ] and easily accessed by guided watercraft tours and by the unguided public via water and—in most cases—land. Over the last 20–30 years, more wildlife tourism in Hawai‘i [ 14 , 15 ] has translated to more visits by people to bays, more people in the bays [ 16 ], dolphins spending most of their day in close proximity to swimmers and boats [ 17 , 18 ], and less time for dolphins to rest [ 18 , 19 ]. Because these trends have coincided with a decrease in abundance of spinner dolphins on Hawai‘i Island’s west coast [ 20 ], some believe wildlife tourism is a meaningful threat to spinners and justifies tighter regulation of human interaction with dolphins [ 18 , 19 ].…”

Dolphin Watching and Compliance to Guidelines Affect Spinner Dolphins’ (Stenella longirostris) Behaviour in Reunion Island

“…Avoidance responses can include increasing the depth and duration of dives [ 18 , 19 , 21 , 24 ] and reducing socialisation such as resting and feeding activities with conspecifics in favour of travelling [ 11 , 14 , 16 , 20 ]. Such alterations in behavioural budgets have great energetic costs for the dolphins, increasing their physical demand [ 11 , 13 , 19 , 21 ], which over the long term can contribute to reduced reproductive success and population decline [ 10 , 21 , 25 , 26 , 27 ]. The cumulative short-term negative effects caused by repeated interactions with anthropogenic activities may also lead to a total avoidance of certain areas [ 10 , 15 , 28 , 29 ].…”

“…Spinner dolphins typically spend the morning resting and socialising in shallow waters close to the coast before travelling offshore to forage at night [ 25 , 37 , 38 ]. The particular ecology of spinner dolphins, with predictable daily migrations across spatially limited areas, facilitates dolphin-watching vessels to observe them [ 25 , 26 , 37 , 39 , 40 , 41 ]. Due to the easiness of encounters, especially in the morning, the population of spinner dolphins is the most consistent main target of the cetacean-watching activities in Reunion Island [ 31 ].…”