|
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Consultation in August 2001 indicated a concern from members of the Association of Marine Park Tour Operators (AMPTO) about the number of Great Barrier Reef (GBR) visits being made with commercial operators in the Far North Queensland (FNQ) region. In response to these user concerns the research team developed a series of studies with the specific objective of describing and analysing changing patterns of reef tourism.
The first step in the analysis was to examine the Environmental Management Charge (EMC) returns in more detail to determine the exact nature of changes in reef visit numbers. The analysis showed that trends in the EMC returns differed across both the different sections of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP) and the different boat size categories. This suggested changes in the patterns of reef visitation, both in terms of choice of operation and location, rather than a decline for one section or the park as a whole.
The research team developed a concept map of GBR visitation to assist in focussing the research on key factors that might be influencing reef visitation patterns. The concept map identified five factors that could be contributing to the changing reef visitation patterns.
Changes in the markets coming to the GBR regions
Changes in patterns of travel within GBR regions
Changes in competition from non-reef tourism operations within the GBR regions
Changes in competition within the GBR tourism sector
Problems with the quality of either the reef destinations or reef operations resulting in poor recommendations and loss of business
The research team then identified and accessed available data to explore each of these factors in more detail.
Data were available from a Rainforest Cooperative Research Centre (Rainforest CRC) funded survey of visitors to the North and Far North Queensland (FNQ) regions. This survey analysed participation in, and demand for, nature-based activities. The results of the analyses of this survey data supported the findings of earlier studies showing that local, repeat and family groups were less likely to visit the reef. The results also support the proposal that gaps in information provision and/or access and limits in trip planning may contribute to lost opportunities to visit the reef. Additionally, cost was identified as a potential barrier to reef visitation.
Analyses of visitors in the 2001 GBR Visitor Analysis survey who had previously been to the GBR and/or who intended to visit again identified the following as key factors related to repeat reef visitation.
Repeat reef visitors were:
Younger
More likely to be backpackers
More likely to be interstate visitors
More likely to be from North America/Europe if they were international visitors
More likely to want to go, and actually go, diving
More likely to seek smaller more specialised operations for their repeat trips
Three key themes emerged from analyses of the International Visitor Survey (IVS) data available for the period 1996 to 1999. Firstly, there was both an increasing number of international visitors and an increasing proportion of backpackers to the Whitsunday region. Secondly, there has a been a change in the pattern of travel within Queensland over the 1996-1999 period, with more travellers arriving in Sydney and leaving from Cairns, so that more international visitors arrive in the Whitsunday region before they travel to Cairns. Thirdly, while the FNQ region had a higher proportion of package tour group visitors in 1999 than the Whitsunday region, there has also been a move to greater numbers of younger, independent travellers in the FNQ region.
Analyses of visitors’ ratings of satisfaction with experiences in the different GBR regions over time did not find any major differences. Analyses of data available on reef images and ratings of the quality of the reef environment for people who had visited the reef prior to being surveyed also found no major decline in perceptions of reef quality.
The final step in the analyses conducted for this report involved finding and surveying visitors to the Cairns region in 2002 who did not visit the GBR, and comparing and contrasting this group to a matching group who did visit the GBR. The results confirmed that Non-reef visitors were older, more likely to be domestic tourists with lower household incomes and were more interested in visiting friends and relatives. Non-reef visitors were also more likely to have visited the region before and to have been to the GBR on a previous trip. The main reasons given for not visiting the GBR were insufficient time, poor weather and having been before.
In summary, the EMC returns data show a decline in reef visits with large boats and this decline is particularly severe in the Cairns section. The EMC data also shows major growth in reef visits in the Central (Whitsunday) section, especially on smaller boats. This pattern is entirely consistent with the changes in international visitation. Thus the major contributing factor is changes in international visitation. But the analyses also identified a group of visitors to the coastal regions adjacent to the GBR who do not repeat a visit to the reef, seeing it as a ‘Once in a Lifetime Experience’. An increase in these visitors to the adjacent coastal regions is also likely to make some contribution to the reef patterns that are seen.
Overall reef visits continue to grow, although at a much slower rate than predicted in the mid 1990s. This growth is also associated with a change in the patterns of reef visitation with visitors spreading out more along the coast and seeking smaller operations. The main contributing factors are changes in international visitation to Australia and an ongoing process based on repeat reef visitation. These forces are not within the control of reef operators, either individually or as a group, and thus present some major challenges for the GBR tourism sector.
Download a complete copy of the report (Adobe Acrobat file 1.36MB).
|
