by Mat Churchill

The Great Barrier Reef has been listed as one of 15 travel destinations being ruined by tourism.

According to Mother Nature Network, a website which claims to provide 'the most accurate and up-to-date news and information available" and cover "the broadest scope of environmental and social responsibility issues on the internet", the Great Barrier Reef  is in dire straits due to the tourism industry.

The website states that "vast tracts of the reef have become bleached by pollution and the abuses of too many tourists, and a recent oil spill has decimated the ecosystem. Without proper care, the Great Barrier Reef could disappear within a generation."

The only comment in response to this claim came from Caitlin, an ex-pat journalist now living in San Fransisco who replied "The Great Barrier Reef is NOT being ruined by tourism. It's being ruined by agricultural run-off (sugar cane plantations on the mainland), climate change and occasional problems like the oil spill."


Other famous tourist attractions to make the list included Machu Picchu in Peru, the Galapagos Islands, Antarctica, and Mount Everest.

Tell us what you think. Is tourism killing our treasured reef?