Great Barrier Reef tourist numbers

The following graphs show tourism visitation to the whole Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and then to the areas with Plans of Management. These numbers include full day visits, part day visits, coral viewing activities, scenic flights and visits by those who are exempt from paying the Environmental Management Charge. Full day visits are the best gauge of the general trend of tourism in the Marine Park. These figures do not include transfer passengers.

Important information about this data

This data is updated biannually following receipt of the Environmental Management Charge returns from commercial tourist operations.

• The number of visitor days to the Marine Park is calculated at follows:
• Full day visits: a day trip of more than three hours.
• Part day visits:
  • a trip that is less than three hours.
  • The first day of a trip entering the Marine Park after 5pm
  • The last day of a trip leaving the Marine Park before 6am.
• Exempt visits: passengers who are not required to pay the Environmental Management Charge.
  • Overnight trips are recorded as multiple full days, for example, a stay of two days and one night is recorded as two full days.
  • Children less than 4 years of age
  • People who are engaged in the tourism industry who are visiting the Marine Park for trade familiarisation
  • Passengers for whom another operator has already paid EMC on that day
  • The fourth and subsequent days for passengers on extended charters.
• Scenic flights: passengers on sight-seeing flights.
• Coral viewing: a standalone activity involving visitors viewing marine life from a semi-submersible or glass bottom boat.  Note: this does not include glass-bottomed and semi-submersible excursions which are ancillary to another tourist program.
• These graphs do not include transfer passengers (e.g. ferry passengers)
• The data presented has not been validated.
   

Visitation Data

• Quick Links:
• Environmental Management Charge
• What are the charges
• Permissions application fees
• Permits online