The Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef of the coast of Australia is one of the As one of the seven wonders of the world. It contains nearly 40% of the coral reefs of the world, whereas the north east seaboard of the continent contains about 2,000 kilometres of reefs. Recent researchers by McNamara and Gibson (2008, p. 97) have established that these reefs account for some of the major tourism attractions in the country. In 2007, the international status of the Great Barrier Reef was confirmed when the World Travel and Tourism Council voted it in as the world’s best tourist destination. Approximately 2 million visitors every year are attracted to tour the Great Barrier Reefs thereby supporting 50, 000 jobs for the locals. As of 2007, the economic value of the Great Barrier Reef was estimated to be nearly AU$ 5 billion. In addition to the beauty of the scenery, the favorable weather condition in the area of the Great Barrier Reef also explains its popularity as a vacation destination. Coghlan and Prideaux, (2009, p. 102) have affirmed that despite the relatively high level of rainfall which occur in the area of the Great Barrier Reef, it’s still more popular than the nearby wet and dry seasons beaches.
According to the 1998 report by the World Tourism Organisation, vacationers predicted what they would want by the year 2020, and their top to wants would be to adventure and go for scuba-diving in the Great Barrier Reef which is their most preferred destination. This ascertains the findings by Needham (2010, p. 770), that Scuba-diving is increasing its importance in the adventure tourism market around the world and that it is one of the fastest growing recreational activities. Indeed, it continues to grow in popularity as one of the most popular activities for vacationers who visit the Great Barrier Reefs. Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus, SCUBA was designed by Jacques Cousteau and Emile Gagnan in 1943. Originally, similar apparatus was used for spearfishing, but Cousteau and Gagnan took the technology and used it to explore the underwater world, including reefs. SCUBA has increased in popularity around the Great Barrier Reef due to ever increasing popularity of the reefs in the past two decades, thereby leading to the emergence of dedicated dive tourism in the Great Barrier Reef area. There are 243 charter operations that are licensed to conduct scuba diving by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority. In 1996 alone, this generated about AU$ 103 million in revenue (MacCarthy, O’Neill, and Williams, 2006, p. 553).
One of the main goals of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is to grant licenses to facilities and vendors operating within the park so that they can be monitored for safety since the authority want visitors to have an enjoyable experience, free of injury which is also the visitor’s desire. Before visitors can engage in any activity that has potential harm, they are warned of the risks involved so that they may be able to make informed decisions on the suitable activities to undertake. The warning includes an assessment of their ability level as well as an offer of training on how to handle different dangerous circumstances that they may face. Kent, Scott, and Kevin (2007, p. 450) observed that this is not to limit the enjoyment of visitors, but rather to increase the pleasure of their experience. The authority also limits visitor access to areas where there may be danger, particularly due to their unfamiliarity with the environment. Similarly, limitations of use restrict the number of people in the area at any given time for their own protection and to ensure adequate supervision. Most of the activities like scuba-diving, are supervised through guided, licensed companies that are inspected to ensure that they meet or exceed minimum safe practice requirements. The 50,000 people employed by the Park Authority receive ongoing training to guarantee that industry accreditation is being upheld at all times (Coghlan and Prideaux, 2009).
Another duty of the Park authority is to make sure that the reef is protected because the ever growing traffic of tourists has accidentally damaged some beauty of the reef. Studies conducted by the Australian government revealed that a mere process of educating the public and tourists will help slow down the rate of damage to the reef, which has been implemented and has worked effectively. By merely explaining to the visitors how this treasure can be maintained, the public has responded in a positive manner and most have adhered to the suggestions made.
As indicated by Needham (2010, p. 762), another positive indicator that the public is interested in protecting the natural beauty of the Great Barrier Reef is their interest in the environmental conservation, particularly in the area. When native Australians visiting the region as well as foreign visitors were questioned about their concern of protecting this world treasure, a surprising number, upwards of 78%, expressed concern and were willing to listen to some of the practices in which they could engage during their visit to aid in the protection of the reef and the surrounding environment. This encouraging survey helps to offset the growing number of people who choose to visit this region annually.
Ecological Economics Criteria for Sustainable Tourism (1996, p. 1) stated that national and world treasure deserves protection from the hardships of people so that more generations to come can share in its beauty. It is hard to imagine why Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the world, but ask someone who has been able to experience this wonder first hand, and your doubts will end. Otherwise visit it yourself, and you will really understand the wonder. (McNamara & Gibson, 2008, p. 93).
References
Coghlan, A., and Prideaux, B. 2009. Welcome to the Wet Tropics: the importance of weather in
Reef tourism resilience. Current Issues in Tourism, 12(2), 89-104. (online), available at
doi:10.1080/13683500802596367
Ecological Economics Criteria for Sustainable Tourism. 1996. Application to the great barrier reef and wet tropics world heritage areas, Australia". Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 4 (1). 1. (online). Available at http://www.multilingual-matters.net/jost/004/0003/jost0040003.pdf
Kent, D. S., Scott, G. P., and Kevin, E. (2007). The geomorphology of the Great Barrier Reef : development, diversity, and change. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press. pp. 450–451.
MacCarthy, M., O'Neill, M., and Williams, P. 2006. Customer satisfaction and Scuba-diving:
Some insights from the deep. Service Industries Journal, 26(5), 537-555. (online)
Available at doi:10.1080/02642060600722841
McNamara, K., and Gibson, C. 2008. Environmental sustainability in practice? A Macro-scale
Profile of Tourist Accommodation Facilities in Australia's Coastal Zone. Journal of
Sustainable Tourism, 16(1), 85-100
Needham, M. D. 2010. Value orientations toward coral reefs in recreation and tourism settings:
a conceptual and measurement approach. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 18(6), 757-
772. (online), available at doi:10.1080/09669581003690486
