when did the great barrier reef become a destination
Great Barrier Reef In 1996, most of the tourism in the region was domestically generated and the most popular visiting times were during the Australian winter. At this time, it was estimated that tourists to the Great Barrier Reef contributed A$776 million per annum.[102] As the largest commercial activity in the region, it was estimated in 2003 that tourism generated over A$4 billion annually,[103] and the 2005 estimate increased to A$5.1 billion.[101] A Deloitte report published by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority in March 2013 states that the Reef's 2,000 kilometres of coastline attracts tourism worth A$6.4 billion annually and employs more than 64,000 people.[104]
Coral reef In 1842 in his first monograph, The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs,[13] Charles Darwin set out his theory of the formation of atoll reefs, an idea he conceived during the voyage of the Beagle. He theorized uplift and subsidence of the Earth's crust under the oceans formed the atolls.[14] Darwinâ€™s theory sets out a sequence of three stages in atoll formation. It starts with a fringing reef forming around an extinct volcanic island as the island and ocean floor subsides. As the subsidence continues, the fringing reef becomes a barrier reef, and ultimately an atoll reef.