The economy and environment
2
The Great Barrier Reef positively effects Australia in so many different ways such as economically, aesthetically, and culturally. Firstly through tourism the Great Barrier Reef supports approximately 69,000 jobs and with 5.4 billion dollars just having the Great Barrier Reef as a tourist destination completely changes our national economy.
Commercial marine tourism goes throughout the Great Barrier Reef. Tourism makes a significant contribution to the presentation, management and economic value of the Great Barrier Reef. The marine park has management tools and processes that allow tourism to occur with very little impact on the environment.
Tourism around the Great Barrier Reef began in the 1950s. During the 1970s, a range of tourism activities for 'day trippers' emerged. Since that time, tourism has significantly increased .It is estimated that each year about two million people travel to the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Most of the tourism, about 85 percent, is focused around Cairns and the Whitsunday Islands.
Tourism at the Great Barrier Reef region has both positive and negative effects. While tourism can provide a way to educate the public on the importance of the reef, the flow of people over a few select areas of the Great Barrier Reef region can also create some problems. This is a table of the statistics that the Marine Park makes recorded 2012.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Australia