Great Barrier Reef Tourism Climate Change Action Strategy 2009-2012

Abstract

Climate change represents one of the single biggest challenges facing the globe today. For the Great Barrier Reef, climate change is a significant issue as the future health of the Great Barrier Reef and the sustainability of its tourism industry are inextricably linked and both are vulnerable to climate change. Research by Tourism Australia shows visitors from the key markets of the UK, China and Japan rank climate change in their top three issues of concern and importance in holiday planning. Through strong partnerships developed over many years, tourism industry leaders and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, working together as the Tourism Climate Change Action Group, have developed the Great Barrier Reef Marine Tourism Climate Change Action Strategy 2009-2012 (the Strategy). The Strategy is intended to guide action to be taken by industry to improve reef health and the viability of the marine tourism industry. The Strategy provides guidance to the marine tourism industry operating within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and acts as a framework for action for management. Based on recommendations from industry leaders and operators and managing agencies, the Strategy provides a way forward for operators faced with climaterelated risks, and will help them adapt to, and be prepared for, a climate change future through a business driven approach. The ability to adapt to challenges has long been a key strength of the tourism industry. The industry has made it through challenges such as the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the global epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). These and other events have shown the resilience of the industry and its ability to reinvent itself in the face of difficult conditions. This Strategy provides a starting point for the marine tourism industry to tackle climate change and its implications for the Great Barrier Reef. The Strategy is designed to be updated and adjusted as more information about the impacts of climate change becomes available, and as new initiatives are identified and tested