Be part of the 2012 Whale & Dolphin Watch Operators Partnership and

lead the industry towards a sustainable and profitable future!

Last November, in the lead up to WhaleFest 2011, Planet Whale held a Whale & Dolphin Watch Operators Workshop attended by 30 delegates from countries across Europe, Africa and Australia. We discussed plans to work together to develop the whale and dolphin watching industry going into the future.
 
Now, Planet Whale would like to offer you the opportunity to form an exclusive partnership of whale and dolphin watch operators working together to highlight new ways in which the industry can become more sustainable, and more profitable, than ever before. Your attendance at the workshop has already given you the edge on your competitors. Now you can maximise this advantage and raise the profile of your business by leading the whale and dolphin watching industry to a brighter future. 

This is how it will work:

 
1.       We will invite 20 whale & dolphin watch operators from around the world to form a Whale & Dolphin Watch Operators Partnership in the coming year.
 
2.       Each partner will have the opportunity to share their ideas on sustainability, education, codes of conduct, and more, by contributing ‘case studies’ to a report entitled ‘2012 Report on Sustainable Whale & Dolphin Watching – the commercial advantages of a sustainable approach’.  Each partner will play an important role, becoming an advisor for the industry in their specialist area. The report will be a significant step forward for all of us, showing that the whale watching industry is capable of making its own decisions and work towards sustainability without being pressured by either governments or the charitable sector. 
 
3.       Based on the five key areas that form the Planet Whale rating system, the report will highlight ways in which an ethical approach can also help businesses commercially. If you don’t have an example of this, don’t worry. Planet Whale will work with you on a project of your choice based on action points from the November workshop.
 
4.       The report will be published and launched on Thursday 25th and Friday 26th October 2012 at the first World Whale & Dolphin Watch Operators Conference, Brighton, UK. This conference, which will take place in the days leading up to the first global Whale Festival, will involve the first gathering of the world’s whale and dolphin watch operators, and the first-ever awards ceremony.

5.       All partners will be clearly branded at the conference. There will also be the opportunity for some partners to present their contributions to the industry. The report will be made available to the entire industry and serve as a discussion document for the meeting.
 
6.       Partners will also be given the opportunity to form a judging panel for the first Whale & Dolphin Watch Operator Awards Ceremony. The panel will decide on the categories and agree the winners. Operators represented on the panel will be excluded from judging. However, there will also be awards based on the public rating system, enabling those businesses on the judging panel to still win an award.

 
Partners will also benefit in the following ways:

 
a.       Logo and link to appear on the footer of all pages on the Planet Whale website.
b.      Further web pages dedicated to the partnership and judging panel.
c.       Partners can share ideas on a discussion forum managed by Planet Whale.
d.      Partner videos will be shown exclusively at WhaleFest 2012 (expected 10,000 visitors).
e.      Partners will receive a large discount on attending WhaleFest 2012 and the World Whale Watch Operators Conference (see below).

 
Fee

The Planet Whale Partnership will run from 15th March 2012 for one year. The fee is £850 (€1030) if payment is received before 15th March. Alternatively, a fee of £990 (€1190) can be paid in 10 monthly instalments of £99 (€119) beginning on 15th March. All partners will benefit from a massive £500 (€605) gift voucher to use at WhaleFest 2012 and the World Whale Watch Operators Conference, bringing the overall fee down to as little as £350 (€420) for attendees. 

Timing

This offer will remain exclusive to attendees of the 4th November 2011 Whale Watch Operators Workshop until Monday 13th March, when it will be released to the global whale and dolphin watch industry. Planet Whale will seek a maximum of 20 partners.

 
And finally...

2012 will be the year when the whale and dolphin watching industry finally gets a voice! By working together we can help to make the industry more profitable and more sustainable than ever before.

 
Together we will:
 
·         Influence the future development of the whale and dolphin watching industry locally and globally.
·         Raise the profile of the industry and encourage more people to go whale & dolphin watching than ever before.
·         Celebrate the positive achievements of the industry and reward excellence.
·         Share ideas, learn, and benefit from each other.
·         Create a sustainable industry that will ensure that we, and future generations, will be able to share our lives with wild whales and dolphins.

Contact

To request to join the scheme or to find out more about it, contact Dylan Walker at dylan@planetwhale.com or telephone +44 (0)1273 355011.