Analysis of Hospitality and Tourism in the Great Barrier Reef Region

This report examines the hospitality and tourism market in the Great Barrier Reef region, with a specific focus on the lodging business segment in the Whitsundays. It highlights the significance of this sector in community development and its substantial revenue generation from tourism. The analysis explores the impact of various environmental factors, including social trends, political stability, ecological concerns, international tourism growth, and technological advancements, on the lodging business. It further discusses how the lodging business is adapting to changing customer preferences, such as the rise of shared accommodations and the integration of smart technologies. The report emphasizes the adoption of ecotourism practices and sustainable measures, like energy-saving devices and waste management systems, to address environmental concerns and ensure future sustainability. It also covers the importance of meeting international visitor standards and leveraging online platforms for customer convenience. The report concludes by stressing the need for continued innovation in eco-friendly practices and marketing efforts to attract tourists and promote the long-term sustainability of the hospitality and tourism sector in the Great Barrier Reef.

Running head: THE HOSPITALITY AND TOURISM MARKET
The Hospitality and Tourism Market
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Great Barrier Reef, located at the Whitsundays, offers one of the most exotic travel
destinations in Australia. It presents a wonderful combination of delights for all types of
travelers, from backpackers to leisure travelers, with luxury hotels, international standard
restaurants, recreation activities and many more (tourismwhitsundays.com.au 2018).
Whitsundays also offers a great business opportunity for the hospitality and tourism sector,
which contributes significantly in economic growth of the region (Kim, Uysal and Sirgy 2013).
This article presents the importance of the lodging segment of the hospitality sector in the Great
Barrier Reef region on the community development and impact of the environmental factors on
this business segment. It will also discuss the ways the lodging business is adopting to the
changing needs of the customers and the sustainability practices that need to be considered for
the future.
The lodging business in the Great Barrier Reef region in Whitsundays is quite developed
with hotels accommodating the needs of the customers belonging to every age, taste and
economic class. There are around 30 island hotels and quite a few Whitsunday coast luxury
hotels (greatbarrierreef.org 2018). This business segment is highly important for the surrounding
community as it creates employment opportunities for the local people. Millions of tourists visit
the Great Barrier Reef every year and that generates a substantial amount of revenue for the
lodging business. The visitors need places as per their taste and budget to stay over and thus,
various types of accommodation facilities have been built, which has created jobs for hundreds
of people in that region (Economics 2013).
The environmental factors, such as, social, political, ecological, international, legal and
technological factors have a significant impact on the lodging business. Social trends influence
the customers’ preference for lodging. Many prefer to stay in isolated lodges, far from the crowd,

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and some now prefer the shared accommodations, like the home-stays by Airbnb (Gooch et al.
2018). Political scenario in the Whitsundays is quite stable and peaceful, which is helpful for
business growth. Ecological factors are extremely important in this heritage site, as increasing
pressure of tourism is affecting the Great Barrier Reef in a negative way (Esparon et al. 2015).
International tourism has increased in a tremendous way in Great Barrier Reef and Whitsundays
islands in the last decade, with 157,000 visitors in the Southern Great Barrier Reef in 2017
(themorningbulletin.com 2017). Legal framework and regulations of this province promote
tourism. However, the lodging business must follow the labor laws and regulations of safety and
security of the employees and the customers. Lastly, the advancement of technology is a major
influencer for this business segment. The hotels, that are not integrating smart technologies in
their business operations, are losing out in the market. While promoting international tourism,
the lodging business must incorporate the online and app based operations to increase the
customer convenience.
The lodging business in the Great Barrier Reef region is addressing the above mentioned
factors through various innovative and adaptive measures. This business is expanding to include
more options as per the customers’ choices, such as, more campgrounds, Airbnb homes,
dormitories, etc. (Rizal et al. 2018). To address the sustainability issue, ecotourism practices are
encouraged. The business is integrating eco-friendly measures or, such as, using energy saving
electronic devices, implementing sustainable waste management system, reducing pollution
emitting practices, eco-friendly cottages etc. (Esparon et al. 2015). The growth of international
visitations has influenced the lodging business to improve its standards to match the demands
and needs of the international visitors. The accommodations strictly follow all types of legal
regulations and ensure smooth functioning. Lastly, the hotels are launching websites, online

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bookings, smartphones and mobile apps to make bookings and accessing information for the
customers very convenient (Gu, Duverger and Yu 2017).
For future sustainability of the business, the lodging business in the Great Barrier Reef in
Whitsundays must innovate and adopt further eco-friendly measures and focus on marketing of
those practices. Climate change is a major concern in the tourism sector and thus, the hotels must
practice sustainable measures in terms of energy saving, pollution and waste management,
equipments. It should use sustainable technologies, co-sharing lodging and improved amenities
to attract more tourists in the future.

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References
Economics, D.A., 2013. Economic contribution of the Great Barrier Reef.
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.
Gooch, M., Dale, A., Marshall, N. and Vella, K., 2018. Assessing the human dimensions of the
Great Barrier Reef: A Wet Tropics Region focus.
greatbarrierreef.org, 2018. Whitsundays, Queensland: Hotels and Accommodation. [online]
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5 Dec. 2018].
Gu, H., Duverger, P. and Yu, L., 2017. Can innovative behavior be led by management? A study
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Kim, K., Uysal, M. and Sirgy, M.J., 2013. How does tourism in a community impact the quality
of life of community residents?. Tourism Management, 36, pp.527-540.
Rizal, H., Yussof, S., Amin, H. and Chen-Jung, K., 2018. EWOM towards homestays lodging:
extending the information system success model. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
Technology, 9(1), pp.94-108.

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themorningbulletin.com, 2017. International growth continues for reef. The Morning Bulletin.
[online] Available at: https://www.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/international-growth-
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