The Business of Tourism: Great Barrier Reef Analysis (HAT202)

This report analyzes the tourism and hospitality industry within the Great Barrier Reef, focusing on the Whitsunday Islands as a primary attraction. The report discusses the economic contribution of the tourism sector, which generates billions of dollars for the Australian economy and provides substantial employment. It explores market segmentation, particularly the shift towards online marketing, and emphasizes the importance of sustainable practices to protect the reef's diversity. The report highlights both positive and negative impacts of tourism, including environmental factors like climate and clean surroundings, socio-economic factors like lodging, and cultural influences. Challenges such as sustainability, corporate social responsibility, and environmental concerns like emissions and water management are addressed, along with the need for innovative solutions to remain competitive. The report also touches on the impact of technological advancements and the need for proper waste management to ensure a thriving marine tourism sector. It references several sources to support its claims and analysis.

Running head: TOURISM AND HOSPITALITY
Tourism and Hospitality
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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OPERATING IN GREAT BARRIER REEF
Byline
Whitsundays Islands are the foremost fascination in the Great Barrier Reef. The Great
Barrier Reef stands as a protective cover over these islands and saves them from the oceanic
covers.The Whitsundays Islands are one of the safest and the most relaxing cruising waters
and a very soothing luxury holiday destination place for the tourists all over the world.
Situated in just the centre of the Great Barrier Reef, The Whitsunday Islands is an essential
wonderful Australian travel experience. Made up of 2900 reefs, it is the largest reef structure
and the greatest marine park in the world. This news article deals with the market segment of
the tourism sector in the newspaper titled “The Guardian”.
The Great Barrier Reef is primarily protected and maintained by the marine tourism
industry of the Reef. The tourism sector of the Great Barrier Reef is one of the major
industries which has a contribution to almost $5.4 billion to the economy of Australia,
providing employment to a huge number of people. The market segment in the Travel and
Tourism sector is a major business segment that needs to be focussed on. The tourism
marketers make use of segmentation to better understand the customer requirements. The
brands of the travel sector and the destination marketers also shift to the online marketing
opportunity since they know that the customers have the possibility to move into online
marketing. A sustainable industry is ensured by the marine tourism of the reef which also
helps to maintain the diversity, the integrity and the productivity of the region. The Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) invites almost 1.7 million touristsin the region every
year. This helps in a generation of a great level income, which eventually has a rapid
development in the tourism infrastructure in the concerned area. Geographically the Tourism
sector in Great Barrier Reef is concentrated in the Cairns and the Whitsundays Areas which

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approximately cover about 7 percent of the Marine Park. There is generation of the direct and
indirect employment by this tourism industry. The hotels and the restaurant in the Great
Barrier Reef and the Whitsundays Islands have the opportunity of earn directly and also
involves direct employment because the employees there are in direct contact with the
tourists and provide the tourist experience.
Increased population pressures on the services such as sewage, transport, electricity as
well as the construction of tourism development effects the water quality of the region. These
are involved in the social impacts that the tourism sector has over the Great Barrier Reef.
There had been immense destruction on the Reef, which included drilling and mining the vast
swathes of the reef, which was supported by the government and the industry. The Legal
decisions on the part of the Australian government have affected The tourism activities like
focus on the motorized and the non-motorized vessels and the marine activities, the boat
induced damage such as the ship groundings and the anchoring have cumulative impacts on
the coral reef. Even the impact of tourism and the recreation activities have a serious impact
on the wildlife populations which creates the difference in the species. Along with the other
factors that have an impact over the tourism sector of the Great Barrier Reef is the
technological changes. There have been various medical advances along with the innovative
space tourism. Improved communication, transport and safety invite greater number of
customers in this industry.
The factors influencing the success of the tourism sector and the ability to meet the
need of the customers are the development and the authenticity of the marketing and the
promotion of the tourism image. There needs to be a proper plan of action. Primarily the
factors that have a positive impact upon the tourism sector are proper environmental factors,
like the climate and the clean surroundings, the socio-economic factors which involve the
availability, lodging and other additional services. Religious, and cultural factors also help in

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the improvement of the tourism industry that help the customers to meet their requirement
and be satisfied.
The tourism and the industry sector faces a number of challenges related to the
sustainability. Like any other business the corporate social responsibility of the tourism sector
also is a major factor. The challenges that need to be resolved through the greening of the
industry are the energy and the Greenhouse Gas emissions, the effective water management
and the water consumption. The tourism industry mist find innovative solutions in order to
remain competitive in the market.
The economy of the country as well as the business of Australian and the tourism
sector can be effected to a great extent by the Tourism sector of the Great Barrier Reef, with
the advancement in the transport technology in the inaccessible regions of the reef and the
islands. There must be proper waste water discharge monitoring and the treatment of the
effluents of the sewage must be taken care of in order to have a proper marine tourism.

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Bibliography
Economics, D.A., 2013. Economic contribution of the Great Barrier Reef.
http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/ (2019). Great Barrier Reef | Australia's Great Natural
Wonder. [online] Great Barrier Reef. Available at: http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/
[Accessed 11 Aug. 2019].
Kininmonth, S., Lemm, S., Malone, C. and Hatley, T., 2014. Spatial vulnerability assessment
of anchor damage within the great barrier reef world heritage area, Australia. Ocean &
coastal management, 100, pp.20-31.
Nella, A. and Christou, E., 2016. Extending tourism marketing: Implications for targeting the
senior tourists’ segment.
Salvatierra, J. and Walters, G., 2017. The impact of human-induced environmental
destruction on destination image perception and travel behaviour: The case of Australia’s
Great Barrier Reef. Journal of Vacation Marketing, 23(1), pp.73-84.
www.ecotourism.org.au (2019). Tourism and the Great Barrier Reef. [ebook] Griffith
Institute for Tourism. Available at: https://www.ecotourism.org.au/assets/Resources-Hub-
Ecotourism-Research/Tourism-and-the-Great-Barrier-Reef.pdf [Accessed 11 Aug. 2019].
www.gbrmpa.gov.au (2019). The Reef. [online] Gbrmpa.gov.au. Available at:
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/the-reef [Accessed 11 Aug. 2019].