HAT202 - Hospitality and Tourism Market: Great Barrier Reef

This report examines the potential of establishing a scuba diving business within the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, focusing on its contribution to the local community and the economy. It highlights the reef's popularity as a scuba diving destination, emphasizing the importance of sustainable tourism practices and environmental preservation, particularly regarding plastic pollution. The report references the oath taken by tourism operators to ban single-use plastics within the reef to protect marine life and the ecosystem. It concludes that investing in scuba diving services can provide visitors with memorable experiences while simultaneously supporting local employment and economic growth, provided environmental responsibility remains a priority. The document is contributed by a student and available on Desklib, a platform that provides students with solved assignments and study tools.

Running head: HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MARKET
Hospitality and Tourism Market
Name of the Student:
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1HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MARKET
The Great Barrier Reef is the greatest masterpiece of Mother Nature. The world
famous Great Barrier Reef is located in Northeast of Australia, which stretches over 2000 km.
It is considered to be one of the top scuba diving destinations of the world (Legrand, Chen
and Sloan 2013). The crystal clear water, healthy reef, amazing bio diversity, big fishes and
spectacular corals have won the hearts of many scuba divers. Moreover, the best way of
exploring the underwater heaven is by a live board. One can also enjoy a day trip from Port
Douglas, Whitsunday Islands, Townsville or from Cairns (Tourismwhitsundays.com.au
2018). So, do not wait and plan a trip to Great Barrier Reef and explore heaven under the
water.
Visitors have an amazing time jet skiing all around the islands with the tour guides.
The range of experiences they gain from the place is worth the investment. Therefore, a plan
to open a business of scuba diving service will not be that bad (Morrison 2013). People from
all over the world come to visit the place to experience their best afternoons by jet skiing,
scuba diving and enjoying live boards (Flightcentre.com.au 2018). So, investing on a
business of scuba diving services will help in providing the visitors with a lifetime
experience, which they deserve. The tour guides will be available to guide the tourists and
help them spend a great couple of hours under the water (Mok, Sparks and Kadampully
2013).

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The chosen business will contribute a lot to the local community, through jobs and
also for the economic development of the country. A large number of visitors from all across
the world come to get a glance of this place. They love exploring the underwater corals and
amazing personalized services. Therefore, the business will help in contributing a lot to the
locals by offering them employment and this in turn, will add up to the economy of the
country (Vila, Darcy and Gonzalez 2015).
The world’s largest reef is a major tourist booster for the crowds who love exploring
places and also the scientists who keeps on researching on this topic. This helps in improving
the scope of tourism development and thus, adding up to the economical factor (McManus
2013). The locals will be getting benefitted from this and it will contribute to the social factor
(Day and Dobbs 2013). Moreover, it is highly important to take care of the environmental
factor as many tourists may litter the place. Over thirty tourism operators have taken oath to
ban the use of plastics within the reef (Evans et al. 2013).
The businesses are adopting new and innovative methods for clearing the places as
ten million plastic straws are polluting the waterways and damaging corals. This in turn, is
also killing the marine life (Leung et al. 2013). The businesses have taken an oath of not

3HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MARKET
using plastic packets or straws within the Great Barrier Reef, in order to keep the place clean
(De’ath et al. 2012). The plastic straws end up in the bellies of marine life and causing them
harm. This is resulting in the death of the lives under water. Moreover, the natural ecosystem
is getting harmed due to this (Coghlan 2012). Therefore, the businesses have taken a strong
step against the usage of plastic bags and straws.
To conclude, the Great Barrier Reef attracts millions of people every year mainly for
recreational activities. There are a wide range of activities, which the visitors enjoy and love.
Therefore, if you want to visit this heavenly place, plan your tour beforehand, in order to
avoid issues later. There are huge numbers of activities, which one can enjoy all throughout
his/her visit. This place is worth an investment. However, we suggest you to keep the area
clean as it is the greatest asset of Mother Nature.

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References
Coghlan, A., 2012. Linking natural resource management to tourist satisfaction: A study of
Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 20(1), pp.41-58.
Day, J.C. and Dobbs, K., 2013. Effective governance of a large and complex cross-
jurisdictional marine protected area: Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Marine Policy, 41, pp.14-
24.
De’ath, G., Fabricius, K.E., Sweatman, H. and Puotinen, M., 2012. The 27–year decline of
coral cover on the Great Barrier Reef and its causes. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, 109(44), pp.17995-17999.
Evans, L.S., Hicks, C.C., Fidelman, P., Tobin, R.C. and Perry, A.L., 2013. Future scenarios
as a research tool: Investigating climate change impacts, adaptation options and outcomes for
the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Human Ecology, 41(6), pp.841-857.
Flightcentre.com.au (2018). [online] Available at: https://www.flightcentre.com.au/world-
travel/australia/whitsundays [Accessed 15 Apr. 2018].
Legrand, W., Chen, J.S. and Sloan, P., 2013. Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry 2nd
Ed: Principles of Sustainable Operations. Routledge.
Leung, D., Law, R., Van Hoof, H. and Buhalis, D., 2013. Social media in tourism and
hospitality: A literature review. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 30(1-2), pp.3-22.
McManus, L., 2013. Customer accounting and marketing performance measures in the hotel
industry: Evidence from Australia. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 33,
pp.140-152.

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Mok, C., Sparks, B. and Kadampully, J., 2013. Service quality management in hospitality,
tourism, and leisure. Routledge.
Morrison, A.M., 2013. Marketing and managing tourism destinations. Routledge.
Tourismwhitsundays.com.au (2018). [online] Available at:
https://www.tourismwhitsundays.com.au/images/atwcorporate/Tourism-Whitsundays
Destination-Planner.pdf [Accessed 15 Apr. 2018].
Vila, T.D., Darcy, S. and González, E.A., 2015. Competing for the disability tourism market–
a comparative exploration of the factors of accessible tourism competitiveness in Spain and
Australia. Tourism Management, 47, pp.261-272.