5. Commercial and non-commercial use

Within the Region, tourism is concentrated into about 7 per cent of the area. Tourism visitation to the entire Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Marine Park) in 2023 was approximately 2.13 million total visitor days.¹¹⁷⁴ Tourists commonly visit the Cairns and Whitsunday planning areas, which are regulated by plans of management. Visits to these two areas contributed to more than 86 per cent of tourist visits to the area in 2022 (Figure 5.2).^{1174,1175,1176} 

Since 2019, the Region’s commercial marine tourism industry faced significant hardship during the global pandemic. Between early 2020 and the end of 2021, visitation to the Region was down by about 42 per cent on 2019 volumes due to COVID-19 management. Visitation in the 2022–23 financial year was 10.4 per cent less than the 7-year pre‑pandemic average of 2.45 million visits and up 63.6 per cent on the 2021–22 financial year visitation levels.¹¹⁷⁴ The change in visitation was due to domestic and international border restrictions during COVID-19. Historically, the Cairns area attracts significant numbers of international visitors. Therefore, disruptions due to COVID-19 were obvious in the Cairns planning area which experienced a downturn in visitation by nearly 70 per cent. Visitation in the Whitsunday planning area declined by 54 per cent during the pandemic. By the end of 2022, visitation had recovered in Cairns and the Whitsundays to 74 and 105 per cent of pre-pandemic 2019 levels, respectively.

The border closures also redistributed tourists from international hubs such as Cairns towards domestic destinations in the southern parts of the Region that are closer to large population centres in south-east Queensland. While visitation in both the Mackay–Capricorn management area and Whitsunday planning area decreased in 2020 (by 41 and 54 per cent of 2019 levels, respectively), the proportion of the total Reef visitation to each location increased by 4 per cent. In comparison, the proportion of total visitation to the Cairns planning area decreased by 12 per cent in 2020.¹¹⁷⁴

The pandemic appears to have influenced the use of bareboats — the hire of self-guided vessels. Bareboat activities are historically most popular in the Whitsunday planning area and less so in the Hinchinbrook planning area. However, usage in Hinchinbrook area had a notable increase between 2019 and 2021 (from 176 to 1203 visitors per year), reflecting an approximate 2-fold increase from the previous peak (2016).¹¹⁷⁴ The change is assumed to be associated with the COVID-19 public health restrictions on the number of persons in gatherings and in close contact.

The pandemic also caused significant operational impacts on the commercial marine tourism industry; such as, increased fuel costs and shortages in skilled staff. Although tourism to the Region is rebounding, it is expected to take several years before it returns to widespread pre-pandemic volumes. National forecasts suggest stabilisation of domestic travel in 2023 after strong growth in 2022, and that international travel to Australia will exceed pre-pandemic levels in 2025.¹¹⁷⁷ In 2023, the marine tourism industry continues to experience difficulties in attracting, training and retaining staff (Section 7.3.1). Since 2019, the industry continues to consider product diversification, including reef rehabilitation through site stewardship ^32,1078 and novel aesthetic opportunities by installing underwater artwork (Section 4.2.2). 

Tourist perceptions of the Reef can be affected by major events, such as mass coral bleaching. These events, and the ways in which the events are communicated to the public, may affect visitation to the Reef. A 2017 survey of Reef tourists showed declines in the overall satisfaction with their Reef experience and in their perceptions of its aesthetic beauty after the 2016 and 2017 mass bleaching events.¹⁰⁷⁷ Negative emotional responses to the Reef, such as sadness, disgust and fear, by tourists increased after the events, and this result was not influenced by whether they had personally observed the impacts. However, the bleaching events also lead to expressions of empathy for the Reef through increased ratings of place values, identity and protective sentiment. How these changing perceptions affect the condition and trend of commercial marine tourism remains a knowledge gap.

The condition (and trend in condition) of First Nations tourism in the Region is not well reported. Special tourism permissions within the Marine Park that are reserved for Traditional Owners remain unallocated.^{1175,1176,1178} Through program and management initiatives sponsored by Reef managers and government, partnerships and engagement of First Nations peoples and the broader marine tourism industry in the Region continue to strengthen.^1179,1180 Since 2019, Reef mangers have made improvements towards implementing co-management principles recognising Traditional Owner aspirations in commercial activities in the Region (Chapter 7).^{1120,1181,1182}

Management | Management of marine tourism in the Region is well established with comprehensive planning, policy and permission systems in place. The Australian Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003 ¹¹⁸³ and the complementary Queensland Government Marine Parks (Great Barrier Reef Coast) Zoning Plan 2004 (zoning plans)¹¹⁸⁴ list activities that require permission and those that are allowed as of right. Commercial marine tourism requires permission in every case and can be conducted in almost all zones (except the Preservation Zone) of the Marine Park and several other restricted areas.

Applications for permission to conduct tourist programs in the Region are jointly decided and managed by the Reef Authority and Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service. In high-use tourism areas within the Region, an added layer of spatial planning complements the zoning plans, including statutory plans of management for Cairns, Hinchinbrook and the Whitsundays. Other policies, such as site management arrangements, also complement these zoning plans. 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, government support was provided to the marine tourism industry through the waiving of permit application fees and the environmental management charge . Fee waivers affected permission application volumes during this period.¹¹⁸⁵ In the 2019–20 financial year, about 3215 tourism permissions were valid and in 2022–23 about 4675.^1185,1186 

In 2021, the Reef Authority released its Tourism Management Action Strategy.¹¹⁸⁷ The strategy identifies specific actions to review, simplify and rationalise tourism policies and other management tools under the Reef Authority’s Policy and Planning Strategic Roadmap.¹¹⁸⁸ An established Tourism Reef Advisory Committee continues to inform the development of policy and strategic direction in the management of the Marine Park. Stakeholders from the commercial marine tourism industry also sit on Local Marine Advisory Committees.

The Reef Authority’s High Standard Tourism Operator program has been in place since 2004. In 2023, the Reef Authority commenced a review of the program to enhance and modernise tourism management. High Standard Tourism Operators voluntarily operate to a higher standard than other permit holders as part of their commitment to ecologically sustainable use of the Marine Park. The number of operators involved has increased from 19 in 2004 to 72 in 2023 and has increased by 13 per cent since 2019. These operators carry approximately 63 per cent of tourists visiting the Reef.¹¹ External auditing and reporting are undertaken to make sure High Standard Tourism Operators are meeting certification requirements.