The great barrier reef, often referred to as Australia’s natural wonder, is very beneficial to the economy, environment and to our health. The great barrier reef and other coral reefs, gain a lot of money from tourism. The great barrier reef has the most amount of tourists visiting it each year, 2 million of them. And with a lot of tourism comes a lot of money around $5 billion a year.
This is not only beneficial for the economy, but beneficial to job seekers since the great barrier reef has
Employed 64,000 people. The diversity of Reef tourism products, services and activities today include charter fishing, bareboat sailing, cruise shipping, helicopter and seaplane rides, water sports, whale watching and kayak tours, the scuba diving and snorkeling are very popular tourist attractions.
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE GBR?
The great barrier reef doesn’t only contribute by tourism but the great barrier reef contribute to our health as well. Coral reef plants and animals are important sources of new medicines being developed to treat cancer, arthritis, human bacterial infections, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, viruses, and other diseases. The fish help too, many of the marine life have developed chemical defenses to protect themselves from predators. Scientists are continuously researching the medical potential of these chemical substances and in the future, countless amounts of diseases could be cured due to the help of the great barrier reef.