The Importance of Lodging Business in the Great Barrier Reef Region

Running head: THE HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MARKET
The Hospitality and Tourism Market
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1THE HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MARKET
Great Barrier Reef, located at the Whitsundays, offers one of the most exotic travel
destinations in Australia. It presents a wonderful combination of delights for all types of
travelers, from backpackers to leisure travelers, with luxury hotels, international standard
restaurants, recreation activities and many more (tourismwhitsundays.com.au 2018).
Whitsundays also offers a great business opportunity for the hospitality and tourism sector,
which contributes significantly in economic growth of the region (Kim, Uysal and Sirgy 2013).
This article presents the importance of the lodging segment of the hospitality sector in the Great
Barrier Reef region on the community development and impact of the environmental factors on
this business segment. It will also discuss the ways the lodging business is adopting to the
changing needs of the customers and the sustainability practices that need to be considered for
the future.
The lodging business in the Great Barrier Reef region in Whitsundays is quite developed
with hotels accommodating the needs of the customers belonging to every age, taste and
economic class. There are around 30 island hotels and quite a few Whitsunday coast luxury
hotels (greatbarrierreef.org 2018). This business segment is highly important for the surrounding
community as it creates employment opportunities for the local people. Millions of tourists visit
the Great Barrier Reef every year and that generates a substantial amount of revenue for the
lodging business. The visitors need places as per their taste and budget to stay over and thus,
various types of accommodation facilities have been built, which has created jobs for hundreds
of people in that region (Economics 2013).
The environmental factors, such as, social, political, ecological, international, legal and
technological factors have a significant impact on the lodging business. Social trends influence
the customers’ preference for lodging. Many prefer to stay in isolated lodges, far from the crowd,

2THE HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MARKET
and some now prefer the shared accommodations, like the home-stays by Airbnb (Gooch et al.
2018). Political scenario in the Whitsundays is quite stable and peaceful, which is helpful for
business growth. Ecological factors are extremely important in this heritage site, as increasing
pressure of tourism is affecting the Great Barrier Reef in a negative way (Esparon et al. 2015).
International tourism has increased in a tremendous way in Great Barrier Reef and Whitsundays
islands in the last decade, with 157,000 visitors in the Southern Great Barrier Reef in 2017
(themorningbulletin.com 2017). Legal framework and regulations of this province promote
tourism. However, the lodging business must follow the labor laws and regulations of safety and
security of the employees and the customers. Lastly, the advancement of technology is a major
influencer for this business segment. The hotels, that are not integrating smart technologies in
their business operations, are losing out in the market. While promoting international tourism,
the lodging business must incorporate the online and app based operations to increase the
customer convenience.
The lodging business in the Great Barrier Reef region is addressing the above mentioned
factors through various innovative and adaptive measures. This business is expanding to include
more options as per the customers’ choices, such as, more campgrounds, Airbnb homes,
dormitories, etc. (Rizal et al. 2018). To address the sustainability issue, ecotourism practices are
encouraged. The business is integrating eco-friendly measures or, such as, using energy saving
electronic devices, implementing sustainable waste management system, reducing pollution
emitting practices, eco-friendly cottages etc. (Esparon et al. 2015). The growth of international
visitations has influenced the lodging business to improve its standards to match the demands
and needs of the international visitors. The accommodations strictly follow all types of legal
regulations and ensure smooth functioning. Lastly, the hotels are launching websites, online