MNG10720 - Research Proposal and Literature Review: Marine Tourism

This research proposal explores the effects of marine tourism in Australia, focusing on its economic contributions and potential for future development. The study highlights the significance of the 'blue economy' to Australia's prosperity, referencing the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) revi...Read More

Running head: EFFECT OF MARINE TOURISM
Effect of marine tourism
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note

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Background
Marine tourism refers to the leisure activities such as travelling to a distant area, which is
related to the coastal or marine area. The term ‘marine’ is associated with salinity and coastal
water. Marine tourism industry is introduced on marine resources to fulfill the economic aspects.
Marine tourism has become a dominant topic in the field of tourism, ocean and coastal
management. The unexplored factors and the attraction of marine life have made it an attractive
topic for research (Edney 2017). As it is a part of the tourism industry therefore, it needs to be
cost- effective for further development. Previous researches have been done on this subject but
there are still more to discover. There a research will be carried out for finding out the related
impact. This research proposal is based on the effect of marine tourism with particular focus on
Australia. It will be a good topic for doing research because the economic gain from tourism in
Australia contributed to the country’s affluence. The study will be conducted because this sector
of tourism is viewed as highly valuable due to its increasing prospects in the market. Tourism
has become a huge business all over the world and the people have started to shift their focus on
the various factors associated with it (Kurniawan et al. 2016). In addition to that, the interest of
people in this sector generates a hesitant feeling. This particular research will provide the
opportunity to resolve existing problems and contradiction on this matter.
Significance
This research will be based on the marine tourism in Australia because the ‘blue
economy’ is accountable for a major contribution in the increasing prosperity of the country.
Moreover, marine tourism possesses high value all over the world in the potential growth sector.
From the previous research carried out on this topic it was found out that the Australian Institute

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of Marine Science (AIMS) has released a review that the marine industry in Australia has
provided an amount of $74.2 billion to the country’s economy in the year 2013- 14. This amount
has accounted for 4.8% of the national GDP and provided 400,000 job opportunities in the
country (McCabe 2016). As per the AIMS review, the extent of Australia’s blue economy,
financial contributions due to the fishing, offshore oil and gas extract and explore, repairing and
maintenance services, water transport business, boat and ship building and infrastructure and
marine tourism. The total value of the business is associated with the additional value created by
the marine industry along with the indirect valuation of other industries. There the research
found out that in total, the marine industry in Australia was responsible for contributing an
amount of $42 billion in the year 2013- 14 along with an additional $32.2 billion from other
industries. These detailed information helped the officials of the industry in effective decision-
making for managing the upcoming and present challenges in the industry. In this respect, the
blue- economy of Australia was considered for securing the oceans on a long- term basis
(Kurniawan et al. 2016).
Problem statement and objectives
The problem statement for this research might arise in the form of irrelevant and biased
response from the research participants. The participants might be unwilling to respond to the
researcher, as they do not have any potential benefit from the research. The time and space
selected for the research might not be suitable. For instance, due to change in the climatic
condition the tourists might switch their plan visiting the specific area. On the other hand, they
might find another better place in a cheaper price so they can change their plan of visiting
Australia (Amelung and Nicholls 2014).

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Following are the objectives, which will be taken into consideration while carrying out
this research:
 To examine out the effect of marine tourism in Australia
 To explore the potential benefit of marine tourism
 To look for new ways of developing marine tourism in the upcoming days
Scope
Demographic- this particular research is aimed at the tourists and the people involved I
the marine activities such as fishing, boat building, sailing and others. The tourist visit in the
coastal area of Australia will have a significant economical benefit as the hotels will earn profit
and those who are involved in the several businesses will benefit from the tourist expense
(Strickland- Munro et al. 2016).
Geographical- the research participants will be drawn from the visiting tourists. It will not
only be limited to the local tourists but international tourists as well. The vendor and
businesspersons associated with selling their products to the tourists will also be a part of the
research group.
Temporal- the best time to carry out the research is during the peak season of tourist
visits. The tourists normally go for a vacation from the mid- December to late- January. The
chilly winters and the sultry summer is not preferred by the tourists while they are enjoying. The
research will be conducted at that period to collect valid information (Green and Wood 2015).

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Literature review
This section will focus on the previous works done by researchers on similar kind of
topics to understand the unexplored areas.
In the article, ‘Marine tourism in the face of global change: The resilience of enterprises
to crises in Thailand and Australia’, Biggs et al. (2015) mentioned that marine tourism is under
threat due to the change in global condition. The coral reef tourism sector was considered
important for the research work. It was found out that marine tourism plays an important role in
enhancing the socio- economic activities of the country. The increasing global change along with
the socio- economic changes has been an added advantage for the security of many coastal
regions. The private sectors are the major factors that play a role in marine tourism but their
ability to cope up with the ongoing socio- economic changes will vary on a wide range. This
adapting function is critical for the upcoming days of marine tourism on a broader aspect. This
particular paper has scrutinized the socio- economic context on the settings of formal and
informal sector in Thailand and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia. It can be concluded that the
policy makers need to focus on the enterprise lifestyle advantages for the requisite of a
modulated comprehension of marine tourism.
On the other hand, Huveneers et al. (2017) has stated in ‘The economic value of shark-
diving tourism in Australia’ that shark- diving is a major part of the ever- increasing marine
industry. This particular study was aimed at providing the approximate value of shark- diving
tourism in Australia. For the purpose of this research, a survey was conducted on the various
types of sharks on a set standardized research. A socio- economic survey was aimed to fulfill the
objectives of the research and information was collected on transport, accommodation, living
costs related to diving and other sea activities. There were 711 research participants consisting

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mostly of tourists in four industries. The revenue gained from these business activities concluded
that the financial value of the different types of tourism do not walk towards a single industry but
spread all over the region. It can be concluded from the findings that the necessity for a
sustainable- driven tourism industry by using sufficient strategies. A standard estimate was
provided to pave the way for further comparison marine and wildlife tourism industries, which
will not be limited to sharks within the same or other countries.
According to the proceedings of International Congress on Coastal and Marine Tourism
(2015), the remote areas of tropical Kimberley in Northern Australia required sufficient spatio-
temporal knowledge in the various economic sectors. While reviewing this literature it was found
out that vessel- based expedition cruising is gaining popularity in the recent days in the
Kimberley region of Australia. The entire coastline of Kimberley was surveyed to fulfill the
purpose of verifying the location and expedition of vessel- based cruise. Even though there were
certain limitations in this research study but the assumption about the activities in Kimberley
coast provided potential indication about the effect. It paved the way for future requirement of
supervision and management (Beckley 2015).
In the article, ‘Are we killing them with kindness? Evaluation of sustainable marine
wildlife tourism’, Trave et al. (2017) shifted the focus on the requirement of new approaches in
the management frameworks. For the purpose of this research, the psychological and ecological
impacts were discussed for highlighting the increasing popularity of marine wildlife tourism. The
research findings were inclined towards the use of scientific knowledge and adaptive
management for improving the marine wildlife tourism. It was assumed that with better
management it would be helpful in securing the species and their habitat. In order to attain the
financial and ecological objectives there were four steps. The steps included increase in research

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on the target species, structured implementation of policies, application of management
framework and engaging stakeholders.
While going through ‘Marine tourism’, it was found out that the sea and ocean is an
important venue for recreation. Their increasing popularity is responsible for the growth of
tourism on a global level. The research has found out that marine tourism consists of different
kinds of activities both on the coast and under the sea where the prime focus is put on sea
activities. The activities are influenced largely by technological advancements (Orams and Lueck
2016).
‘The ugly face of tourism: Marine debris pollution linked to visitation in the southern
Great Barrier Reef, Australia’ by Wilson and Verlis (2017) highlighted that tourists were
responsible for throwing debris at the Great Barrier Reef islands. However, the tourist- prone
areas made easy availability of the tourism related products. The negative impact was faced by
the restricted island areas, which required awareness on the part of tourists. It would be effective
in securing the prohibited areas from being polluted due to debris.
Burgin and Hardiman (2015) mentioned in his article, ‘Effects of non-consumptive
wildlife-oriented tourism on marine species and prospects for their sustainable management’ that
wildlife tourism is considered as an ethical option to captured observation. The human
interventions are often accompanied by wildlife and nature observation and the associated
outcomes include change in behavior, adaptation and their impacts. The increasing popularity of
the particular type of tourism is difficult to attain due to the limitation of literature. The findings
of this research have focused on funding for an improved realization of sustainable management.

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References
Amelung, B. and Nicholls, S., 2014. Implications of climate change for tourism in
Australia. Tourism Management, 41, pp.228-244.
Beckley, L.E., 2015. Cumulative visitation by expedition cruise vessels along the remote
Kimberley coast, northern Australia.
Biggs, D., Hicks, C.C., Cinner, J.E. and Hall, C.M., 2015. Marine tourism in the face of global
change: The resilience of enterprises to crises in Thailand and Australia. Ocean & coastal
management, 105, pp.65-74.
Burgin, S. and Hardiman, N., 2015. Effects of non-consumptive wildlife-oriented tourism on
marine species and prospects for their sustainable management. Journal of environmental
management, 151, pp.210-220.
Edney, J., 2017. Human Dimensions Of Wreck Diving And Management: Case Studies From
Australia And Micronesia. Tourism in Marine Environments, 12(3-4), pp.169-182.
Green, R.J. and Wood, P., 2015. 11 Australian Wildlife Tourism and Research
Network. Scientific Tourism: Researchers as Travellers, p.165.
Huveneers, C., Meekan, M.G., Apps, K., Ferreira, L.C., Pannell, D. and Vianna, G.M., 2017.
The economic value of shark-diving tourism in Australia. Reviews in Fish Biology and
Fisheries, 27(3), pp.665-680.
Kurniawan, F., Adrianto, L., Bengen, D.G. and Prasetyo, L.B., 2016. Patterns of landscape
change on small islands: A case of Gili Matra Islands, Marine Tourism Park,
Indonesia. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 227, pp.553-559.

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Kurniawan, F., Adrianto, L., Bengen, D.G. and Prasetyo, L.B., 2016. Vulnerability assessment of
small islands to tourism: The case of the Marine Tourism Park of the Gili Matra Islands,
Indonesia. Global ecology and conservation, 6, pp.308-326.
McCabe, A., 2016. Examining an opportunity for collaboration among stakeholders to promote
conservation in sea turtle tourism in Gili Trawangan, Lombok, Indonesia.
Orams, M. and Lueck, M., 2016. Marine tourism. Encyclopedia of Tourism, pp.585-586.
Strickland-Munro, J., Kobryn, H., Moore, S.A. and Brown, G., 2016. Valuing the wild, remote
and beautiful: Using Public Participation GIS to inform tourism planning in the Kimberley
Coast, Western Australia.
Trave, C., Brunnschweiler, J., Sheaves, M., Diedrich, A. and Barnett, A., 2017. Are we killing
them with kindness? Evaluation of sustainable marine wildlife tourism. Biological
Conservation, 209, pp.211-222.
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(1-2),
pp.239-246.

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Appendices