PROJECT 2.2: TOURIST DESTINATION IMAGE AND INTERPRETATION
(Prof P Pearce, JCU)
The Reef's image as an outstanding tourist destination attracts
up to 8,500 international and domestic visitors per day. Surveys
of more than 1600 Reef users in the Mission Beach to Ayr region have been
conducted with the support of tourist operators. This is the first stage
of a potential Reef-wide project to obtain a full market
segmentation profile of visitors to all regions of the GBR by
the end of 1998. The survey questions were designed to facilitate comparisons
with larger databases including the Australian National Visitor Survey,
the Queensland Visitor Survey and the Domestic Market Segmentation Study,
and which are also being analysed to provide information on tourists visiting
the region. The resultant demographic profiles of the visitors making
up each segment will assist tourist operators and Reef managers.
 |
| Social researcher Barbara Woods conducting surveys
of visitor motivations and expectations to the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park. |
Ecotourism is an increasingly important component of
the GBR tourism industry. Spectacular wildlife such as whalesharks, whales,
turtles, large fish and sharks are significant attractions for divers.
The interactions between divers and wildlife have been studied using interviews,
questionnaires and observational dives at reef locations in the GBR. Some
research has also been conducted at Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia
where an industry based on whalesharks has already been established. This
will provide a valuable model for parallel developments in the GBR. The
first stage of this project will be completed in mid-1996.
Top | Contents
| Next
|
