Environmental Factors and Tourism in the Great Barrier Reef: A Report

This report, prepared for the Brisbane Times, analyzes the adventure tourism sector of the Whitsundays and the Great Barrier Reef, highlighting its significance as a natural wonder and a prime destination for scuba diving, snorkeling, and other aquatic activities. It explores the economic benefits of tourism, including employment opportunities and contributions to the local economy, while also addressing the environmental challenges faced by the Great Barrier Reef, such as climate change, poor water quality, and coastal development. The report discusses the management strategies implemented by the Australian and Queensland governments, including the Reef 2050 plan, to protect and preserve the marine environment and promote sustainable tourism practices. The analysis emphasizes the importance of balancing tourism development with environmental conservation to ensure the long-term health and sustainability of the Great Barrier Reef ecosystem.

Running head: OPERATING IN GREAT BARRIER REEF
Operating in Great Barrier Reef
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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Adventure tourism in Whitsundays.................................................................................................3
Environmental factors of Great Barrier Reef...................................................................................3
Management of the environmental issues........................................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5

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Introduction
The following article is on the “Adventure tourism” segment of tourism sector of
Whitsundays and Barrier Reef. The article will be published in Brisbane times.
Whitsundays islands are situated along the Queensland coast of Australia. The great
barrier reef of Australia has been recognized as one of the seven natural wonders of the world.
The location of Whitsundays is in the central region of Great Barrier Reef, it is the ideal
destination and base for experiencing the aquatic life of Great Barrier Reef (Williamson eta al.
2016). The Whitsundays islands is protected by the Great Barrier Reef as it is surrounded by the
Great Barrier reef, the huge swells of oceans are does not affect the tourism of that region
because it is protected by the Great Barrier Reef thus making the place a safe destination for
smoothest sailing. The heart reef is situated in the Great Barrier reef and it is very beautiful and
one can experience its beauty from the air, through a seaplane or Helicopter (Gbrmpa.gov.au.
2017).

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Adventure tourism in Whitsundays
Whitsundays is considered as one of the best destinations for Scuba diving, one can have
a view of the aquatic life, where there are more than ten thousand different species of fishes,
coral and other aquatic animals that include, Dolphins, whales and turtles. The tour operators of
the region provide an exquisite diving experience for the tourists irrespective of the fact the
tourist is an expert diver or an amateur (Wilson and Verlis 2017).
The warm shallow waters of the Whitsundays Islands provide a clear view of fishes of
various colors and the coral formation in the Marine Park of Great Barrier Reef. There are
several underwater chambers and glass bottom boats for the tourists who do not want to get wet
yet want to experience the aquatic life. The Whitsundays serves as one of the best fishing
destination in Queensland region. Several kinds of activities can be carried out in Whitsundays in
adventure tourism, like scuba, diving, snorkeling, apart from that surfing is also a very popular
water sport of this region. Many tour operators offer tourism services in this segment who have
well trained instructors who make sure that tourists have a wonderful experience. Adventure
tourism contributes to the economy of the area as a lot of people are directly and indirectly
employed in this segment. There are instructors, service providers, people of make necessary
equipments for scuba diving, snorkeling and surfing. (Farr et al. 2017).
Environmental factors of Great Barrier Reef
Tourism in Whitsundays is one of the significant factors that positively affects the
economy of the place. It is one of the most employment generation source in the entire region.
According to the data provided by the tourism board of Queensland, tourism directly employs
more than 2,856 or 34.44 percent of the total workforce of Queensland. The indirect jobs are the

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hotels, retails, restaurants in the service sector. Tourism is the main occupation in Whitsundays,
and it significantly contributes to the sustainable development of the economy of the region and
the local community (Esparon et al. 2017). Many hotels and resorts in the region that supports
the tourism of the place. Apart from the magnificent view of the coral reefs and the aquatic life
of the island, it is very important for the tourists to have accommodation facility as it makes the
experience of the tourists better. Tourism supports many other industries as well, during the peak
seasons there are various beach festivals organized and arranged by the local business owners
and authorities. These occasions might be any orchestra night and festivals, the tourists are
attracted more to that place. Tourism helps in improving the the lifestyle of the local (Authority
2014).
The Great Barrier Reef is one of the treasures and it needs to be preserved and conserved
but there has been a number of issues that the Great Barrier Reef has been facing and these issues
have been affecting the marine life Great barrier reef. According to the Great Barrier Reef
Outlook Report, the issues faced by Great Barrier Reef is climate change, poor quality from
land-based run-off, impacts from coastal development and illegal fishing. The poor quality of
water is causing the aquatic life to die, the storms and floods in the recent times have affected the
ecosystem (Goldberg et al. 2017).
Management of the environmental issues
Government has is undertaking several steps to solve the issues of Great Barrier reef. The
Australia and the Queensland government has implemented long term sustainability plan for the
protection of the Coral reefs that are decaying, it also aims at improving the water quality of
Great barrier reef so that the marine life is not destroyed. The Reef 2050 is a plan that has been

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launched for monitoring and reporting the conditions of the island and the coastal region so that
the authorities can take effective actions to have a sustainable ecosystem. Government is putting
emphasis on the people to practice sustainable tourism for that they are creating awareness
amongst the customers. To the service providers the Government is requesting to not to exceed
the number of tourists beyond the carrying capacity of the place (Authority 2016).
Conclusion
Whitsundays that lies in the heart of Great Barrier Reef is one of the most popular
adventure tourism destinations of Queensland and Australia. It helps in boosting the economy of
the region as it provides employment opportunities for the local people and improving the
standard of their lives. There are several issues that have been faced by the Great Barrier Reef,
including climate change, decaying coral reefs that which is the USP of the place. The poor
water quality is affecting the aquatic lives of the Reef. The Government of Queensland and
Australia has implemented a long term plan for improving the environmental conditions and
addressing the issues of that region.

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References
Authority, G.B.R.M.P., 2014. Great barrier reef outlook report 2014.
Authority, G.B.R.M.P., 2016. Tourism Reef Advisory Committee communique: Meeting 4, 21
and 22 April 2016.
Esparon, M., Stoeckl, N., Farr, M. and Larson, S., 2015. The significance of environmental
values for destination competitiveness and sustainable tourism strategy making: insights from
Australia's Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 23(5),
pp.706-725.
Farr, M., Stoeckl, N. and Beg, R.A., 2014. The non-consumptive (tourism)‘value’of marine
species in the Northern section of the Great Barrier Reef. Marine Policy, 43, pp.89-103.
Gbrmpa.gov.au. 2017. Reef 2050 Long-term Sustainability Plan - GBRMPA. [online] Available
at: http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/managing-the-reef/reef-2050 [Accessed 11 Aug. 2017].
Goldberg, J., Birtles, A., Marshall, N., Curnock, M., Case, P. and Beeden, R., 2017. The role of
Great Barrier Reef tourism operators in addressing climate change through strategic
communication and direct action. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, pp.1-19.
Williamson, D.H., Harrison, H.B., Almany, G.R., Berumen, M.L., Bode, M., Bonin, M.C.,
Choukroun, S., Doherty, P.J., Frisch, A.J., Saenz-Agudelo, P. and Jones, G.P., 2016. Data from:
Large-scale, multi-directional larval connectivity among coral reef fish populations in the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park.

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Wilson, S.P. and Verlis, K.M., 2017. The ugly face of tourism: Marine debris pollution linked to
visitation in the southern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 117(1),
pp.239-246.