The number of people taking whale-watching trips from Hualien is rising after the region adopted measures to attract more visitors, the Hualien Fishermen’s Association said.
Interest in whale watching had declined in the previous two years, with only 30,000 whale watchers recorded during the entire summer season last year. This year, however, there were almost 30,000 visitors in the three-month period between May and last month, the association said.
Association secretary-general Wang Teng-yi (王鐙億) said on Tuesday that Hualien has been developing its whale-watching industry for more than 10 years.
At the peak, there were more than 100,000 visitors each year, she said, with the busiest season — summer — sometimes seeing 60,000 visitors in two months.
If Taiwan hadn’t been affected by two typhoons this year, which led to the cancelation of whale-watching trips for 10 days, there could have been around 40,000 whale watchers, she said.
While whale-watching operators were concerned that local economic problems, including rising oil prices, could cut into their margins, operators actually posted higher profits given the increase in the number of whale watchers this year, she said.
Wang said there are only two locations for whale watching near Hualien, and many whale watchers have expressed concern about the convenience of transportation.
Despite these limitations, the association said the number of whale watchers still rose, attracted by several companies’ advertisements of trips promising a 93 percent chance of actually seeing a whale.
Many operators also promise a free second trip if watchers do not manage to spot a whale.
The popularity of Hualien as a summer vacation destination also might have been a factor, it said.
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