The Queensland Government, in an effort to revitalize the region post-Debbie, pumped $25 million into new attractions, including luxury hotels like the newly reopened InterContinental Hayman Island Resort, a six-sculpture underwater exhibit, and a permanent underwater museum-the first of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere-set to open in March. In the past year alone, the region has seen an unprecedented number of new tourism developments. In a region still very much in recovery, are tourist attractions like Reefsuites adding further harm? The Great Barrier Reef suffered extensive damage, with some reefs seeing a 95 percent loss of coral-a further blow to an ecosystem already threatened by the effects of climate change (like coral bleaching), and natural predators like coral-killing starfish. And it was only two years ago that Cyclone Debbie tore through the Whitsundays, leaving entire islands stripped bare and destroying homes, hotels, and infrastructure. As I write this, deadly fires rage across the country-my own hometown of Sydney is engulfed in smoke and ash. This is the reef.Īs a native Australian, I’m all too aware of how fragile the environment is, and how crucial it is to respect it.
