In 2009, it was estimated that 13 million tourists took trips to observe whales, dolphins, and porpoises (cetaceans) in their natural habitats.  The whale watching industry is worth around $400 million and creates over 5,500 jobs. Whale watching is currently the greatest economic activity reliant upon cetaceans. Some of the fastest growing whale-watch industries are in developing countries such as China, Cambodia, Laos, Nicaragua and Panama. It has been argued that whale watching can provide benefits in conservation ethics and educational benefits as well. It is believed that the whale watching industry is positive for education there is also the issue of habituation and increase stress to the cetaceans in question.

This article is a review article from the Journal of Marine Biology. The topic of the articles is International Whale Watching. The questions from the article