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Moreton Bay’s whale watching season has officially launched with Brisbane Whale Watching celebrating its silver anniversary and reporting hundreds of bookings.

With the whale watching industry bringing over 15,000 people to the region each year, Brisbane Whale Watching plays an integral part in the economy and tourism industry.

At the official opening of the season, Queensland Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchcliffe highlighted that this season marked 25 years of delivering whale watching visitor experiences for Captain Kerry Lopez on board Eye-Spy.

Eye-Spy has helped to build an important visitor attraction not only for Moreton Bay but also Brisbane Whale Watching’s Redcliffe base. Brisbane Whale Watching employs many locals and contributes an estimated $5.18 million to the Redcliffe and Moreton Bay economy.

Whale watching has helped make Redcliffe one of South East Queensland’s favourite destinations for day trippers.

It’s this time of year that whales leave the cold waters of the Antarctic to give birth in the warm, calm waters off Hervey Bay - making Moreton Bay one of the best places from which to observe approximately 30,000 humpback whales expected to turn out in force this season.

Captain Kerry Lopez advised that the business had come a long way since 1996 “I’ve watched whale numbers grow from just 2000 when I first started to over 33,000 today and instead of taking us an hour and a half to get out on the bay, it’s just 30 minutes now.

“Seeing a whale on TV is nothing like the power of seeing these majestic animals in real life, we regularly get grown adults crying and saying it’s one of the best things they’ve seen in their life, it’s a real bucket list thing to do.”

Moreton Bay Region Industry and Tourism (MBRIT) Chief Executive Shane Newcombe said Captain Lopez’s success was a testament to the strength of the business and noted “celebrating 25 years in any business is a major milestone, but for a tourism operator off the back of COVID, it’s a huge achievement worthy of recognition and celebration. Whale watching in Moreton Bay is a key iconic experience in our region and a major contributor to our visitor economy. We are delighted to have had Captain Kerry Lopez at the helm, who has delivered a memorable experience to over 375,000 visitors during this time.”

Minister Hinchliffe advised “over a quarter-of-a-century, Brisbane Whale Watching, Captain Kerry and Eye-Spy have become icons of Brisbane’s tourism industry.

“The breathtaking sight of whales breaching on Moreton Bay was a popular visitor experience for many of the 1.5 million international tourists per year sightseeing in Brisbane before the pandemic.

“We know the closure of the international border has been tough on local tourism businesses like Brisbane Whale Watching.

“That’s why we’re encouraging Queenslanders and interstate visitors to reconnect with Moreton Bay and its magnificent humpback highway this whale watching season.

“Brisbane Whale Watching in its silver anniversary year is a great example of resilience and helping Queensland tourism to rebuild better.

Minister Hinchliffe added “It was terrific to see Captain Kerry take the first booking of our Brisbane Holiday Dollars initiative and then benefit from a further 650 bookings” - as part of the Queensland Government’s Economic Recovery Plan.

Moreton Bay Region Industry and Tourism (MBRIT) Chief Executive Shane Newcombe said Captain Lopez’s success was a testament to the strength of the business and noted “Celebrating 25 years in any business is a major milestone, but for a tourism operator off the back of COVID, it’s a huge achievement worthy of recognition and celebration. Whale watching in Moreton Bay is a key iconic experience in our region and a major contributor to our visitor economy. We are delighted to have had Captain Kerry Lopez at the helm, who has delivered a memorable experience to over 375,000 visitors during this time.”

For more information about the whale watching season, visit brisbanewhalewatching.com.au

Images : This season marks 25 years of delivering whale watching visitor experiences for Captain Kerry Lopez on board Eye-Spy

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