Whales bring economic boon

Tours to view the humpbacks that visit every year generate up to $74 million for the state

By Allison Schaefers

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jan 06, 2013

~~<p>Hawaii's biggest group of winter tourists, the thousands of humpback whales that migrate from the chilly North Pacific to the state's warm waters, are back, and they are making a positive economic splash across the isles.</p>
<p>The McGlaughlin family of Liberty, Mo., has seen these giants of the deep on prior trips to Hawaii. However, they paid for an encore on Wednesday. Getting up close to Hawaii's humpback visitors, which grow up to 50 feet in length and can weigh 90,000 or so pounds, is on their must-do list.</p>
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Hawaii's biggest group of winter tourists, the thousands of humpback whales that migrate from the chilly North Pacific to the state's warm waters, are back, and they are making a positive economic splash across the isles.

The McGlaughlin family of Liberty, Mo., has seen these giants of the deep on prior trips to Hawaii. However, they paid for an encore on Wednesday. Getting up close to Hawaii's humpback visitors, which grow up to 50 feet in length and can weigh 90,000 or so pounds, is on their must-do list. Login for more...