Sustainable Tourism and the Great Barrier Reef: A Case Study Analysis

This case study examines sustainable tourism practices at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It explores the reef's significance as a major tourism destination and a World Heritage Site, highlighting the implementation of various sustainable tourism strategies. The report discusses specific programs like the 'Eye of the Reef' initiative, which involves community participation in monitoring reef health, and the role of the tourism industry in promoting conservation. It also covers government steps towards sustainability, such as banning capital dredge material transfer and implementing the Reef 2050 Plan. Furthermore, the case study mentions the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and its criteria for sustainable tourism, concluding with the importance of balancing tourism with environmental protection to ensure the reef's long-term health and economic viability. The report underscores the importance of community involvement, government support, and industry collaboration in safeguarding this natural wonder.

Running head: SUSTAINABLE TOURISM CASE STUDY
Sustainable tourism case study
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
The Great Barrier Reef, Australia..........................................................................................2
Sustainable tourism practices.................................................................................................3
Managing tourism..................................................................................................................4
Steps from the government towards sustainability................................................................4
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)....................................................................5
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................5
Reference list..............................................................................................................................6

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Introduction
Sustainable tourism business is a policy where constant re-evaluation of priorities
according to the needs of the present environmental situation is practiced. A balance between
the limits and the usage should be monitored and planning should be done in such a way that
tourism is promoted without affecting the place and its biodiversity (Buckley 2012). The aim
of the report is to focus on the case study of Great Barrier Reef of Australia, which is a
popular tourism spot and measures of sustainable tourism are being successfully implemented
to enrich the place. The various methods that have been used for implementing the quotient
of sustainability will be discussed in the report along with a conclusion.
Discussion
The Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Regarded as the top tourism spot of Australia, the Great Barrier Reef is the biggest
coral reef in the whole world. Marine life is in plenty in here and there are as many as 3000
specific reef systems (Authority 2014). The place has a beautiful golden beach that attracts
the tourists throughout the year. Activities such as scuba diving, whale watching, bare boats
and dolphin swimming are all available in the place to engage the tourists. It is a fact that the
Great Barrier Reef is the one living thing that is visible even from the space. It was
pronounced a World Heritage zone in 1981 and added to the National Heritage List in 2007
(Economics 2013). A nearer encounter with the Great Barrier Reef's marine ecosystem
uncovers many shocking submerged variati1ons and coral attractions. According to Jones
(2012), it including the world's biggest gathering of corals (truth be told, more than 400
various types of coral), coral wipes, beams, molluscs, dolphins, more than 1500 types of

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tropical fish, more than 200 sorts of winged animals, around 20 different types of reptiles
including ocean turtles and monster shellfishes more than one-hundred twenty years in age.
Sustainable tourism practices
As the place is marked as a World Heritage Site, various sustainable practices are
implemented to reduce threat from tourism. The place has been turned into a conservation
ally in the present day and this has been only possible due to the appropriate tourism
management strategies (Goeldner and Ritchie 2012). The Eye of the Reef programme is the
most significant program that has been implemented by the marine park authorities to
encourage sustainable tourism in the area. The program allows people to contribute to the
long-term protection program of the reef (Beeden et al. 2014). People are welcomed to
report any observation they make to the authorities of the marine park. The tourism based
monitoring of the reef allowed the authorities to get hold of primary data regarding the health
of the reefs at a weekly basis from everyone who took the survey. This allowed them to work
towards improving all the sections that were reported in the survey sheets that were answered
by the visiting tourists (Cleary, Horsfall and Hayter 2014). Problems such as coral bleaching
were detected by the programme report and it led to better preservation of the entire system.
The major contributor to the sustainable tourism practice is the tourism industry. The
program brings four different assessment types which are-
 Sightings networks- This enables reporting any unusual sightings in the area and
allows for quicker action on the authorities (Vernazzani, Cabrera and Brownell
2014).
 Rapid monitoring- This allows the authorities to get a quick impression of the area as
people rapidly monitor the activities of the area.

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 Tourism weekly monitoring- Weekly monitoring helps in getting updated
information a weekly basis and it makes it easier for the authorities to plan their
action in the upcoming week.
 Surveys- Regular survey provides first hand information from the tourists about the
reef health and the impact on various biodiversity issues of the park.
Reef clients have recorded more than 9,000 sightings, by giving perceptions, photos and
recordings (Authority 2014). Free applications are accessible for download onto Smartphone
to report Reef sightings. The mobility of the program has further allowed it to become more
popular as the effort required on the part of the responder is very less. The ones responding
do not need extensive involvement in the entire process and hence people from all kinds of
backgrounds can take part in this program.
Managing tourism
To maintain the huge reef, cooperation from the upcoming generations and effort
from their side is required along with the authorities of the marine park, tourism department
and the Queensland parks wildlife service. By working together, they can overcome the
impact and reduce the damage towards the Great Barrier Reef. The common goal has to be
oriented towards the wise use and enjoyment of the reef in perpetuity. Particular attention is
given towards ensuring the wellbeing of coral reefs and different natural surroundings, for
example, sea grass from stay harm, poor plunging hones, squander transfer, reef strolling and
gathering.
Steps from the government towards sustainability
Australia has, for all time prohibited the transfer of the port associated capital dig
material in the whole World Heritage Site. The government boycott was declared at the
World Parks Congress on 12th day of November 2014 and came into law on the 2nd of June
2015. Extreme new punishments in opposition to poaching will give added assurance to

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turtles and dugongs, as will expanded financing to decrease marine trash. The Reef 2050 Plan
rests on the quality accessible logical research, and lessons inherited from 40 years of helpful
administration, and a formal inquiry of the whole Reef district from the far-reaching vital
appraisal (Moyle 2014). The arrangement has solid targets and activities, and everybody with
a stake in the Reef has clear duties. Both the governments of Australian and Queensland are
focused on conveying the ideal results in favor of the future security and administration of the
Reef.
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) builds up and oversees worldwide
economical principles, known as the GSTC Criteria (Bricker, Black and Cottrell 2014). There
are two sets: Destination Criteria for open approach creators and goal administrators, and
Industry Criteria for inns and visit administrators. These are the managing standards and least
necessities that any tourism business or goal should try to reach with a specific end goal to
secure and maintain the world's common and social assets, while guaranteeing tourism meets
its potential as an instrument for preservation and destitution easing.
Conclusion
One of the largest business activities in Australia is the tourism practice that is
prevalent in the Great Barrier Marine Park. It generates annual revenue of more of than $1b.
More than 1.6 million visitors come to the marine park in a year and it has become one of the
most sought after tourism spots in the world. Promoting sustainable tourism in such an area
leads to the place having an increased sustainability and hence a better environment for the
tourists. As huge numbers of people visit the place, it is necessary to make the reef livelonger
and emanate the beauty that it has done for such long time. The Eye of the park program has
efficiently helped in attaining the needed results when it comes to sustainable tourism. In

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recent discoveries, it is seen that the health of the reef is improving significantly and one of
the largest living things on earth is in a state much healthier than before.

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Reference list
Authority, G.B.R.M.P., 2014. Great barrier reef outlook report 2014.
Beeden, R.J., Turner, M.A., Dryden, J., Merida, F., Goudkamp, K., Malone, C., Marshall,
P.A., Birtles, A. and Maynard, J.A., 2014. Rapid survey protocol that provides dynamic
information on reef condition to managers of the Great Barrier Reef. Environmental
monitoring and assessment, 186(12), pp.8527-8540.
Bricker, K., Black, R. and Cottrell, S., 2014, November. Global sustainable tourism council.
In IUCN World Parks Congress, Sydney (pp. 12-19).
Buckley, R., 2012. Sustainable tourism: Research and reality. Annals of Tourism
Research, 39(2), pp.528-546.
Cleary, M., Horsfall, J. and Hayter, M., 2014. Data collection and sampling in qualitative
research: does size matter?. Journal of advanced nursing, 70(3), pp.473-475.
Economics, D.A., 2013. Economic contribution of the Great Barrier Reef.
Goeldner, C.R. and Ritchie, J.B., 2012. Tourism: principles, practices, philosophies (No. Ed.
12). John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Jones, O.A. ed., 2012. Biology and Geology of Coral Reefs V2: Biology 1. Elsevier.
Moyle, B.D., McLennan, C.L.J., Ruhanen, L. and Weiler, B., 2014. Tracking the concept of
sustainability in Australian tourism policy and planning documents. Journal of Sustainable
Tourism, 22(7), pp.1037-1051.
Vernazzani, B.G., Cabrera, E. and Brownell, R.L., 2014. Eastern South Pacific southern right
whale photo‐identification catalog reveals behavior and habitat use patterns. Marine Mammal
Science, 30(1), pp.389-398.