Operating in the Great Barrier Reef

This article discusses the business opportunities and environmental sustainability in the Great Barrier Reef. It explores the Whitsundays Island and its recreational activities. The article emphasizes the importance of maintaining ecological balance and promoting sustainable tourism.

Running head: HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM
Operating in the Great Barrier Reef
Name of the Student:
Named for the university:
Author’s Note:

2OPERATING IN THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
One of the major travel destinations for the nature lovers and the adventure lovers is the
Great Barrier Reef. It consists of the beautiful and exciting coral reefs that offer a great marine
life attraction. Millions of tourists travel to the Great Barrier Reef every year to enjoy the nature
and marine life at its best. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most valued and breathtaking
natural gifts of Australia. It consists of 3000 reef systems and many beautiful islands. One of
such island is the Whitsundays Island. It has a pristine and serene stretch of white sand. It is
beautifully adorned with its crystal clear water and the lush green rainforests
(Tourismwhitsundays.com.au 2018).
The business segment chosen is the recreation segmentation. This is one of the most
important sectors as people usually travel for some refreshments and recreations. So, it is of
utmost importance for the Whitsundays to provide a wide variety of refreshments and other
recreational activities. Scuba Doo, Reef seeing from the air, sail the reef, seawalker and many
other such breathtaking and adventurous experiences help in providing the tourists with a large
number of refreshing activities. Laws must also be enforced for the international travelers so that
they do not try activities like hunting the marine animals or any other creatures of the island.
Laws have to be enacted so that the international tourists do not plan to start any illegal business
like exporting crocodile skin or the other natural resources of the island (Lance 2016).
They must not use these recreational activities at the cost of harming the environment.
The location of the business is the Great Coral Reef of Australia and the island was chosen is the
Whitsundays Island. It usually provides a large number of marine life and other aquatic activities
that are greatly cherished by the tourists. The recreation can be a source of major economic
development for the local people. This is because the local people can be appointed as guides to
the tourists for the different water sports. There can be many cultural events as well where the

3OPERATING IN THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
local people can display their handmade crafts or any other items made from the natural
resources.
The travelers must maintain the environmental sustainability by making sure that they are
not throwing any garbage or litters into the sea or in and around the island. This will not only
cause pollution but will also kill many of the marine animals (Ball et al. 2018). Throwing of
plastics into the water must be strictly prohibited. There must be many legal regulations and acts
passed so that the tourists do not get the chance of damaging the environment. Being Green is
one of the initiatives taken by them so that they can control the UV rays from damaging the
corals and the other marine animals. They also emphasize the ecological aspects. They have also
started using many technical and technological means that will be helpful in keeping the
ecological balance in the proper system (Goldberg et al. 2018).
The business has started reacting to all these factors very efficiently. They are
undertaking many of the modern technologically advanced methods that will be helpful in
promoting sustainable tourism in the Whitsundays Island. They have set up a museum called the
Historical Proserpine museum that upholds the rich cultural history of the Whitsunday Island.
This museum is built and maintained with the effort of the entire community (Ryan et al. 2016).
It is a cultural center that upholds all the local art and crafts made by the people of the local
community. This museum serves as a good spot for the visitors and at the same time plays a
good role in upgrading the local people as well. It tries to afford the education of the local people
and is also a good effort towards the preservation of the society and the rich cultural history
(Cheer and Lew 2017).

4OPERATING IN THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
Promoting the ecotourism must be one of the major aspects of the Whitsundays tourism
industry in the future days. They must make provisions for the tourists to come and enjoy the
natural aspects keeping in mind different ways of conservation of the environmental aspects as
well. They must maintain the eco-certification program of Australia in order to promote
environmental sustainability.

5OPERATING IN THE GREAT BARRIER REEF
References
Ball, D., Bryant, S.L. and Mau, R., 2018. The interplay between tourism and conservation on
islands. Australian Island Arks: Conservation, Management and Opportunities, p.165.
Cheer, J.M. and Lew, A.A. eds., 2017. Tourism, Resilience and Sustainability: Adapting to
Social, Political and Economic Change. Routledge.
Goldberg, J., Birtles, A., Marshall, N., Curnock, M., Case, P. and Beeden, R., 2018. The role of
Great Barrier Reef tourism operators in addressing climate change through strategic
communication and direct action. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 26(2), pp.238-256.
Lance, R., 2016. Great Barrier Reef. LiNQ (Literature in North Queensland), 34(1).
Ryan, E.J., Lewis, S.E., Smithers, S.G., Clark, T.R. and Zhao, J.X., 2016. Multi-scale records of
reef development and condition provide context for contemporary changes on inshore
reefs. Global and Planetary Change, 146, pp.162-178.
Tourismwhitsundays.com.au. 2018. Tourism Whitsundays, Queensland Australia, Whitsundays
Holidays - Tourism Whitsundays QLD - Home. [online] Available at:
https://www.tourismwhitsundays.com.au/ [Accessed 3 Apr. 2018].