Good news for Reef tourism - 24 August

Queensland tourism workers are benefiting from protection measures for the Great Barrier Reef, according to a tourism body.

The Queensland Tourism Industry Council said data released by the Federal government last week showed increased fish stocks on the Great Barrier Reef as a result of Green Zones introduced in 2004.

The QTIC said more than 40,000 people working in tourism regions surrounding the Reef would benefit from the regeneration of Reef's ecosystems, according to a Queensland Business Review report.

QTIC chief executive Daniel Gschwind told the QBR that the tourism industry had campaigned hard to increase the protection of the Reef, which attracts 1.6 million visitors annually.

Mr Gschwind said the result was important for the long term sustainability of one of Australia's greatest natural assets and provided for long term economic benefits for both tourism and fishing.

"The latest Access Economics Figures show the Great Barrier Reef contributes $5.8 billion to Australia's Gross Domestic Product. However we must remember that tourism is by far the largest employer with 47,660 employees, second to commercial fishing, which is estimated to employ 641 people," he said.

Mr Gschwind said visitor surveys consistently indicated that international visitors consider the Barrier Reef one of the top three attractions for motivating them to travel to Australia.

Contributed by Tim Hochgrebe added 2006-08-24