Status and future directions of cetacean watching tourism: A comparative systematic review of Australia and South and East Asia

The cetacean watching industry is growing worldwide. Here we present a systematic review of 61 studies published between 1995 and 2024 to investigate ecological and economic impacts of cetacean watching in South and East Asia compared to Australia to direct future research. The cetacean watching industry in South and East Asia is less efficiently regulated and in numerous countries it was rated as posing a moderate to high risk on cetacean populations. At the same time Australia plays a vital role in global cetacean watching and ecological impact research. The geographic comparison helps to uncover gaps in research in both areas. We present data on geographic scope, forms of data collection, the type of cetacean watching activities that were researched and the identified impacts. In the future we recommend that research on cetacean tourism extend to (1) ecological impact studies in South and East Asia, (2) economic impact studies in Australia, and studies on other social impacts such as benefits for the individual participant and changes in pro-environmental behaviour and ambassadorship for cetacean conservation programs, (3) other species than the handful of species that have been studied, (4) sustainable visitor experience development that enhances the experience without increasing negative impacts. We conclude with a conceptual model of the cetacean watching industry.