Educational Tourism in the Great Barrier Reef -myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theEducational Tourism in the Great Barrier Reef for Tourism. Answer: Introductory summary The Great Barrier Reef is stretched across a vast area of 2, 300 km and considered as one of most important sites of conservation and has been subsumed under the UNESCO World Heritage (Coughlan 2012). The rich diversity of flora and fauna has made the Great Barrier Reef world. The WhitSunday islands comprises of an archipelago of islands situated in Queensland, Australia (Great Barrier Reef 2018). I would like to establish an educational tourism business that would create awareness about the rich flora and fauna of the Great Barrier life. For this purpose, I would want the Courier mail to promote the business. Educational tourism is one of the most emerging fields. The months of May and June are the end of academic year and the beginning of the tourism season. Therefore, a waning in the academic year leads to the waxing of opportunities in the educational tourism industry (Tourismandmore.com. 2018). Educational tourism is known by the names of career enhancement or experiences that lead to self-actualization (Robertson 2017). The coral reef is known for its different species of marine animals, birds and fish. It consists of the one-third of the molluscus, endangered species of turtles, echidnas, corals, starfish and crustaceans. Around 80 per cent of the tourism activity takes places within the 7 per cent of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Coghlan 2012). The Park has been popular with scientists, marine biologists and students who are interested to explore and investigate about the wildlife and conservation of the Great Barrier Reef (Economics 2013). It has also been popular with the e nvironmentalists who are keen on the conservation of the coral reef. The local people can be involved as trainers as parts of the educational trips. Owing to their knowledge about the various facets about the region, they will have a competitive advantage as compared to non-local trainers. Since, the rate of unemployment is quite high in the region, it will provide with the means of livelihood PESTEL Analysis of educational tourism in Australia Australia has favourable political environment and therefore, it would be a wise decision to embark on the venture of educational tourism. Australia is known for its fair, just and transparent legal mechanism. Couglan (2012) is of the opinion that the country has great prospect to flourish in the sector of educational tourism. The government needs to be more proactive in realizing the potential of the industry and vigorously promote it. In the Great Barrier Reef area, tourism accounts for 4 billion AUD on a yearly basis (Australia.com. 2018). Keeping in mind the high rate of unemployment in the area, the business of educational tourism would provide a sustainable means of livelihood to the local community. They would be able to utilize their insider knowledge and facilitate a mutual learning experience with the tourists. In the age of digital media, I would make generous use of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and also have an official website. There will be the logo of a starfish that w ould lead to easy identification of the brand. The environmental factor posits a major threat to the prospect of the business. The gradual destruction of the coral reef may lead to the aversion of the tourists. To ensure that the business thrives, we have to create awareness about it in the schools, colleges, seminars and educational trade fairs. The educational tourism aims to provide a wholesome experience by allowing the tourists to engage with the local community. We are planning to include snorkelling and adventure sports to generate excitement among the students. Conclusion Educational tourism is dependent on students, early career scholars, academicians and scientists. Therefore, the government of Australia needs to create awareness so that the sustainability of the business can be ensured. An assessment of the threats, weakness and PESTEL analysis reveals that the need of the hour is to involve environmentalists on board to protect the coral reef and weave the success story of the educational tourism venture. Reference Australia.com. 2018.The Great Barrier Reef, Queensland - Tourism Australia. [online] Available at: https://www.australia.com/en-ie/places/great-barrier-reef.html [Accessed 7 Apr. 2018]. Authority, G.B.R.M.P., 2014. Great barrier reef outlook report 2014. Coghlan, A., 2012. Facilitating reef tourism management through an innovative importance-performance analysis method.Tourism Management,33(4), pp.767-775. Bunce, L., Townsley, P. and Pollnac, R.B., 2014. Socioeconomic manual for coral reef management. Coghlan, A., 2012. Linking natural resource management to tourist satisfaction: A study of Australia's Great Barrier Reef.Journal of Sustainable Tourism,20(1), pp.41-58. Economics, D.A., 2013. Economic contribution of the Great Barrier Reef. Great Barrier Reef. 2018.Experiences in the region - Great Barrier Reef. [online] Available at: https://www.greatbarrierreef.org/reef-experiences/ [Accessed 7 Apr. 2018]. Robertson, Joshua 2017.Revealed: report for Unesco on the Great Barrier Reef that .... [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/may/27/revealed-the-report-on-the-great-barrier-reef-that-australia-didnt-want-the-world-to-see [Accessed 2018]. Tourismandmore.com. 2018.Educational Tourism | Tourism MoreTourism More. [online] Available at: https://www.tourismandmore.com/tidbits/educational-tourism/ [Accessed 12 Apr. 2018].