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TOURISM INDUSTRY WATCHING OVER REEF3 September 2003 “While the Great Barrier Reef has about 1.6 million visitors each year, the ‘footprint’ of marine tourism on the Reef is small. The Reef has more than 2,900 individual reefs and 940 islands, so the human pressure is currently thinly spread,” says CRC Reef CEO Professor Russell Reichelt. Half of Australians responding to a 1997 survey said they thought tourism development had a very large and negative impact on the Great Barrier Reef. But the recent review doesn’t support this view, Professor Reichelt says. “Marine tourism plays a key role in maintaining the health of the Reef. At the same time, the industry generates $1.5 billion in annual income, plus extensive overseas investment.” “The tourism industry has a strong ethic to protect the Reef, and a financial incentive to do so. Industry stewardship enhances management by Marine Park authorities.” “Tourism operators act as ‘reef watchdogs’, and are often first to spot something that may be going wrong. For example, tourism operators have been key to early identification of areas affected by coral bleaching, enabling scientists to survey these impacts soon after the event,” he said. Better mooring systems are being introduced for pontoons on the Reef to prevent damage to corals and reefs. Pressure from boats is being reduced by setting up moorings, many of which have been installed by the operators themselves. ‘No anchoring’ areas have been introduced in particularly sensitive sections of the Reef, along with an education campaign for boat owners. About 335,000 SCUBA dives take place on the Great Barrier Reef each year. Coral damage is being reduced by educating divers and keeping inexperienced divers and large groups away from sensitive areas. There is major scientific effort to ensure that tourism does not impact on populations of whales, turtles and birds – with many tour operators involved in developing codes of practice to ensure that encounters do not disturb wildlife or endanger tourists. New tourism developments on the coast and islands are subject to increasingly tough controls over design, construction, environmental impact, energy and water use, and especially waste disposal, to prevent nutrient runoff to the sea.
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