HAT202 - Great Barrier Reef: The Business of Tourism & Hospitality

This report provides an overview of the tourism and hospitality business in the Whitsunday Islands and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, focusing on the luxury hotel and resort segment. It discusses the economic importance of tourism, highlighting the revenue and employment opportunities generated by luxury accommodations. The report also examines various factors influencing the hotel industry, including political stability, social factors like consumer preferences, and technological advancements that facilitate communication and data transfer. Sustainability is identified as a key concern, with emphasis on ecological impact and waste management. The report concludes by stressing the importance of environmental considerations, such as changing weather conditions, for the future stability and effective operation of the hotel and resort business in the Whitsunday Islands. This document is available on Desklib, a platform offering a variety of study tools and resources for students.

Running head: NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
Newspaper Article
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Stunning Destinations For All The Travelers
Australia’s Whitsundays are world famous.The bush clad islands dotted through the
indigo ocean is the home to a busy and colorful underwater world.This paradise resides at the
heart of the great barrier reef along the Queensland coast of Australia (Travelblog.org 2018).This
is one of the unique and stunning destinations for all the travelers throughout the world.The 74
islands of the Whitsundays are situated between Townsville and Mackay and about 900km north
of Brisbane.Most of the parks in the Whitsunday islands has the status of National Park and
extensive tracks to walk down and experience the mesmerizing view of nature and the
surroundings (Great Barrier Reef 2018).The great barrier reef and the Whitsunday islands are the
perfect holiday destination for all.Nature meets with a harmonious combination of delights in
this picture-perfect destination.Luxury hotels and island resorts, international a la carte
restaurants are famous among the backpackers (Spalding et al. 2017).The article explains the
rising market of luxury hotels and resorts in the islands of the Whitsundays of Australia and how
the booming market of the hotels in the destination has been beneficial for the local community
people in terms of socio-economic development.

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Tourism is one of the most important components of the global economy in the current
era.The luxury hotels and resorts are one of the most important parts of the tourism business that
generates billions of dollars in revenues and millions of employment opportunities for the people
throughout the world.The rising industry of luxury hotels and resorts is considered to be one of
the essential tools for the development of the economy (The Guardian 2018). From the economic
perspective, the luxury hotels and the resorts in the Whitsunday islands attract travelers from
various parts of the world and generates a good amount of wealth from them.Besides, the hotels
and resorts generate humungous job opportunities which are beneficial for the local
communities.
From changing weather conditions to changing governments, certain environmental
factors including social, political, ecological, international, legal and technological factors impact
deeply on the hotel industry of the Whitsunday islands in Australia (HAT202 Hospitality &
Tourism Management 2017). Political factors like changing government, terrorism effects
directly on the hotel industry of the tourism sector.Luxury hotels and resorts in Whitsunday
islands cannot flourish in an environment of conflict an terror.Hence political stability is one of
the key factors that are essential for the hotels and resorts of the Whitsunday islands.Social
factors like consumer preference and consumer sentiment in the hotel sector of the great barrier
reef shape the tourism industry of Australia (Authority 2018).The technological factor is one of

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the facilitators of demand for the hotels and resorts of the Whitsunday islands for the tourism
industry in the current era.Technolgy has facilitated communication and transfer of data to bridge
the gap between several parts of the world.Tourist throughout the world use technology
nowadays to find out the best hotels and resorts for their next destination.Tourist prefers top
quality hospitality services in the best luxurious hotel chains when they travel, this factor
contributes to the business of the resorts and hotels industry in the Whitsunday
islands.Sustainability is the key concern in the hotel industry of Whitsunday islands.Public safety
an labor laws are the two most important concerns for the tourism industry of the great barrier
reef. Both labor and tourist security are important concerns for the hotel industry
(Couriermail.com.au 2018).The legal challenges in case of the hotel industry in this dream
destination are quite big.
Thus it can be concluded that current trends have shifted the focus on eco-tourism.From
the management of ecological impact to the management of waste materials, all these
environmental factors are a concern for the luxury hotel operators (Esparon et al. 2015).One of
the major environmental factors for the luxury hotels and resort business in the Whitsunday
island is the changing weather conditions.Resorts and hotels that are cleaner and greener tend to

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receive more tourist.Thus the hotel and resort business of Whitsunday islands should consider
these factors for the future stability so that the business operates effectively in the near future.

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References
Authority, G.B.R.M.P., 2018. Superyacht guide to the Whitsundays: prepared by the Great
Barrier Reef Marine Park.
Couriermail.com.au. 2018. Great Barrier Reef ‘dead in 80 years’. [online] Available at:
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/unesco-warns-climate-change-means-time-is-
running-out-for-world-heritage-great-barrier-reef/news-story/
4765a338156dd9e5b9b2c1d2b357d655 [Accessed 11 Apr. 2018].
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.
Great Barrier Reef. 2018. Experiences in the region - Great Barrier Reef. [online] Available at:
http://www.greatbarrierreef.org/reef-experiences/ [Accessed 11 Apr. 2018].
HAT202 Hospitality & Tourism Management. 2017.
Spalding, M., Burke, L., Wood, S.A., Ashpole, J., Hutchison, J. and zu Ermgassen, P., 2017.
Mapping the global value and distribution of coral reef tourism. Marine Policy, 82, pp.104-113.
The Guardian. 2018. Great Barrier Reef | Environment | The Guardian. [online] Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/great-barrier-reef [Accessed 11 Apr. 2018].
Travelblog.org. 2018. Great Barrier Reef Travel Blogs, Photos and Forum. [online] Available
at: https://www.travelblog.org/Oceania/Australia/Queensland/Great-Barrier-Reef/ [Accessed 11
Apr. 2018].

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