Keeping an I (and 1.9 million others) on the reef: the sustainability of tourism on the Great Barrier Reef

Marketed internationally as an iconic tourism experience, Australia's Great Barrier Reef\ud (GBR) faces a range of issues similar to those faced by coral reefs in other parts of the\ud world. According to the Reef's management authority (GRBMPA), 1.9 million tourists\ud visit the reef annually, using a range of operators offering different products catering to\ud different markets. Management of the tourism industry is based on a zoning system, that\ud requires natural and social science input. Data on visitor experiences and satisfaction has\ud been collected in the past under CRC Reef research, and more recently a new long term\ud reporting system of reef tourist visitation funded under the Marine and Tropical Sciences\ud Research Facility (MTSRF) through the Australian Federal Government. The\ud sustainability of this industry is believed to be influenced by a range of natural (climate\ud change, crown-of -thoms, etc) and social (rising cost of fuel, changing travel patters,\ud emerging markets) issues. In this paper, these issues are reviewed, before analyzing the\ud reef tourism experience within the context of these issues; data are collected on sociodemographics,\ud travel behaviour, motivations, activities on the reef, previous reef tourism\ud experience, satisfaction (best and worst experiences) and expectations. The results may\ud then be compared over time with the emerging social and environmental issues and\ud threats to determine their effect on the sustainability of reef tourism. Finally some of the\ud solutions and strategies available to tourism operators are discussed in the light of the\ud arguments presented in this paper