Tourism on a coral reef

Tourism when done wrongly, especially those associated with coral reefs, threatens the reefs that the entire industry depends. And the reef tourism is significant all around the world. The Nature Conservancy has estimated that the annual value of global tourism based on reefs is a little below ten billion dollars. That says something about the value of these precious coral reefs.

However, the presence of careless divers and swimmers to boat anchors placed incorrectly are just some of the threats that come along with tourism. Furthermore, pollution from the fairly large cruise industry poses a problem, as mentioned inPollution.  Hotels and resorts may also discharge untreated sewage which, as mentioned in Pollution, causes competition for the corals. More of the problems associated with eco tourism will be mentioned in Challenges .

Southeast Asia highlights:

Southeast Asia, being located along the equator belt, often arises the images of colourful coral reefs with beaches, suitable for vacation. The tourism industry based on coral reefs, bring in lots of economic benefits to the country. The Malacca Straits itself, has a total economic value of US$563 million, based on their coral reefs for tourism, shoreline protection and fishing resources. Especially with the countries in Southeast Asia still developing their tourism industry, this poses a concern for the future of coral reefs.