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The Great Barrier Reef-Australia
Australia has the largest coral reef in the world. That’s how the Great Barrier Reef in Australia is refered to as by the historians and nature lovers. The GBR is parallel to the coast of Queensland, Australia, for almost 2,000km. The warm waters of the South-West Pacific Ocean touch the GBR and cause an ideal environment for the world's largest system of coral reefs. The pristine condition that the GBR has, has led it to be responsible for it being listed by the World Heritage Trust as a protected site. It is managed by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, which works really hard to maintain its beauty and cultural gifts for the world to admire and enjoy for posterity. This status has elevated the GBR to becoming the biggest World Heritage area and also the planet’s largest living thing.
Background information
The reef needs very salty water that is clear so that light penetrates through it. The corals in the reef contain algae, which produce oxygen and help the coral in removing wastes. This is the beauty of numerous corals and colorful natural gifts offered by the GBR. this place almost half the size of Texas, and home to many creatures ranging from tiny burrowing sea-worms to tiger sharks weighing more than a tonne as well as dolphins, dugongs, whales, turtles, ponderous potato cod, moray eels and hump headed Maori wrasse. The Great Barrier Reef has a wide variety of multicolored coral, sponges and varieties of seaweed to delight and thrill tourists and is the pride of Australia.
What the Great Barrier Reef has to offer adventure lovers
Those that like to stay above water are spoilt for choice at the GBR with a plethora of different varieties of sailing and motorized vessels that ply the Aussie waters here. There are equal numbers of units in Cairns that offer different levels of scuba courses. Beginners can start with simple tuition necessary to dive safely, or take a more advanced course leading to dive master status.
Other tourism offerings include large vessels operating to pontoons moored at attractive off-shore reef sites for enhanced sight-seeing experience and a multiplicity of island resorts, luxury and budget trips on cruise ships, charter vessels, airplane and helicopter scenic joy flights that go over the reef and the in-the-skin experience of bareboat self-skipper charter.
Changing trends in tourism: Great Barrier Reef experience for holidaymakers
Tourism is the largest commercial activity in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, generating over $1b per annum-thanks to the 1.6 million tourists visiting the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park each year. With approximately 730 tourism operators and 1,500 vessels and aircraft permitted to operate in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, there is no dearth of revenue generation for the marine tourism operations and no lack of adventure for holidaymakers. Snorkeling, scuba diving, fishing, glass-bottomed boat viewing, semi-submersibles and educational trips to learn about the marine environment are on offer at the Great Barrier –the ultimate example of biological diversity in the plant and animal kingdom.