Tourists’ aesthetic assessment of environmental changes, linking conservation planning to sustainable tourism development

Abstract

Tourists often travel to experience the natural beauty of a destination such as the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in Australia. This nature-based destination attracts millions of tourists every year because of its outstanding underwater aesthetics. Recently, parts of the GBR have been degraded by warming sea temperatures and other local anthropogenic influences, threatening the Reef aesthetics and tourism in the region. In order to deal with this topical issue, the current research investigates tourists’ aesthetic assessment of environmental changes in the GBR ecosystem. Research outcomes indicate that tourists’ perceived beauty of the Reef is sensitive to environmental changes. The disappearance of sea animals (colourful fish, turtle), degrading coral and decreasing water quality negatively influence their aesthetic assessment, which can reduce tourist visitation in the long-term. Hence, sustainable tourism development in the GBR regions can only be achieved when government support for environmental management is strengthened. Conservation programs of the GBR should expand beyond coral restoration for controlling water quality, reducing pollution and protecting aesthetically appealing sea animals.

Keywords:

• Aesthetic
• conjoint analysis
• Great Barrier Reef
• natural beauty
• World Heritage
• tourism
• sustainable development

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This project was funded through a National Environment Science Program (NESP) fund, within the Tropical Water Quality Hub.

Notes on contributors

Dung Le

Dung Le is a PhD student at Griffith University. Her research interests include the study of tourism experiences, destination marketing, and aesthetics.

Noel Scott

Noel Scott is Adjunct Professor, Sustainability Research Centre, University of the Sunshine Coast. At the time of this study, he was Professor and Deputy Director, Griffith Institute for Tourism at Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia. His research interests include the study of tourism experiences, destination management and marketing, and stakeholder organisation.

Susanne Becken

Susanne Becken is Professor and Director, Griffith Institute for Tourism at Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia. Her research interests include tourism and climate change, global challenges for tourism, disaster management and tourism and tourist behaviours.

Rod M. Connolly

Rod Connolly is Professor in the School of Environment and the Coast and Estuaries group in the Australian Rivers Institute. Through his work on resilience and ecosystem protection, Rod is helping to find sustainable solutions to the issues of urbanisation, food security, ecosystem services and climate variability.