ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses and compares the development of a new niche market in two coastal resort destinations on the East Coast of Australia. The research draws on two cases, part of a larger study focusing on the development of new types of tourism products in established resort destinations. These cases utilize data “triangulation” (Jick 1983) to develop an event history of the development of commercial aspects of viewing of humpback whales in Australia. Data are drawn from in-depth interviews with wildlife experts, industry and community leaders, archival analysis and personal observation. This has allowed a number of key events in the development of this specialized niche market to be identified. The chapter discusses the development of latent demand arising from increasing interest in environmental issues and the serendipitous recognition by an experienced entrepreneur of whale watching as a new business opportunity. However, the local community was reluctant to see a full development of this business sector in one resort destination while in the other case examined here, many local small businesses were able to benefit from the development of whale watching.
