More than one million viewers across Australia witnessed the first part of Sir David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef documentary, with expectations the viewership will continue to grow. The three-part series continues on Sunday.

A spokesperson for ABC TV in Sydney told Newsport that the Five City Metro Audience – which encompasses the country’s five major capital cities – captured some 815,000 people.

“And if you factor in the regional cities and towns, you can confidently say the documentary reached more than a million viewers,” the spokesperson said.

The popularity and success of the series is already starting to see results in Far North Queensland.

Passions of Paradise has expanded its citizen science program in anticipation of a surge in interest following the series.

Chief Executive Officer Scotty Garden said the company had boosted the number of crew accredited with Ecotourism Australia to five as part of the company’s commitment to educate passengers about the Great Barrier Reef.

And as Sir David takes us on a journey through the reef’s inhabitants and descends deeper underwater than ever before, Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) is looking forward to the significant positives that will result from the program.

“The Attenborough series will be one element of many to positively drive bothshort and long-term growth in tourism for our region,” said TTNQ Chief Executive Officer Alex de Waal.

“The series is being broadcast across the world -- it was screened by the BBC in the UK earlier this year – and will encourage the many people who aspire to visit the Great Barrier Reef to do so.

“Tropical North Queensland is the gateway to the Great Barrier Reef with more than 100 ways to experience this World Heritage area.

“And I am encouraged that Tropical North Queensland is on target to achieve its 2020 goal of $4.3 million in expenditure with extraordinary growth of 2.9 million domestic and international visitors for 2015 spending $3.3 billion,” said de Waal.

Meanwhile, the Central Hotel on Macrossan Street is expecting to attract even greater interest on Sunday after screening the first part of the series last Sunday night. Newsport Publishing is one of the sponsors of the event.

Newsport publisher Sam Cullen said his company is pleased and proud to be able to support this type of positive messaging involving the reef.

The other supporting sponsors are the Port Douglas Central Hotel, Eye to Eye Marine Encounters, Tourism and Events Queensland, Tourism Port Douglas Daintree and Great Barrier Reef Marathon Festival.

The details of Sunday’s screening are:

When: Sunday, April 17 
Where: Central Hotel, Macrossan Street, Port Douglas 
Time: From 6:00pm with the screening beginning at 7:40pm 
Nibbles will be provided and drinks available at the bar