Ecotourism in Australia: destinations and tourist arrivals

Australia is a country with many specially protected areas and developed eco-tourism. Ecotourists are travelers visiting protected areas, mainly numerous national parks, of which there are about 700 in Australia. The study uses modern statistical data obtained from the official reports of the governing bodies of the Commonwealth of Australia and its subjects - states and territories. The information is presented in the form of tables, graphs and a brief explanatory text for each group of data. Materials on the structure and composition of specially protected natural areas (PAs), the number of tourists and excursionists in National Parks, forms of ownership of protected areas are analyzed. At the same time, a clear distinction is made between objects subordinate to the State Government and protected areas created within states and territories - that is, regional protected areas. Separately, the issue of objects included in the Australian National Heritage List, of which there are 119 in Australia, is considered. It is estimated that on average per year in Australia there are up to 25 million environmental and tourist arrivals. In several cases, the situation described in Australia is compared with that in the United States and the Russian Federation.