A social media campaign has been launched by Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) in an effort to counter negative publicity about the state of the Great Barrier Reef near Port Douglas.

TTNQ Chief Executive Officer Alex de Waal has called on tourists and reef operators to flood social media with images and videos showcasing the wonder of the reefs near Cairns and Port Douglas.

“The coral bleaching events that scientists have recorded in the reefs off Cape York are of great concern, but we need to temper these reports with what is happening in the sections of the Great Barrier Reef easily accessible to the general public,” de Waal said.

“Our operators have reported just a few isolated incidents of staghorn coral bleaching in the areas they operate and fortunately the majority of the reefs of Cairns and Port Douglas are looking great.”

Quicksilver was one of the first operators to jump on board and began interviewing passengers as they stepped off their boats in Port Douglas last week.

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TTNQ was hoping the interactive push and word of mouth could reach more than 11 million people by combining the social media arms of Tourism and Events Queensland (TEG) and Tourism Australia.

“Help us bombard social media with the tsunami of joy being experienced today by citizens from all parts of this planet,” de Waal said.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authoroty (GBRMPA) has recently deployed divers to investigate the levels of coral bleaching on reefs around Cairns and Port Douglas.

They say bleaching has intensified in recent weeks, but it was too early to tell whether the reef would make a full recovery. Mass bleaching occurred in 1998 and 2002 causing only five per cent coral death.

Tourists wishing to post their Great Barrier Reef photos and videos can upload directly on to the Australia.com, Visit Queensland, Australia and the Explore Tropical North Queensland Facebook walls.

Those on Instagram can use the hashtag #seeaustralia #thisis #thisisqueensland #exploreTNQ and #GBRtoday or include @Australia @Queensland and @CairnsGBR in your Twitter posts.