A series of sustainability firsts and a commitment to global best practice standards for more than 20 years has earned Cairns-based Great Barrier Reef operator Passions of Paradise a place in Ecotourism Australia’s Hall of Fame. 

Passions of Paradise Chief Executive Officer Scotty Garden said the boutique family-owned business was proud to be a tourism product involved in conservation that had been educating people about the Great Barrier Reef for 36 years. 

“Our vision is to offer sustainable and immersive experiences that inspire a deep connection with the ocean by giving visitors a front row seat in the conservation activities we undertake,” he said. 

“We have evolved the traditional visitor day trip to the Great Barrier Reef into a multi-dimensional regenerative tourism experience which earned Passions of Paradise a prestigious Banksia National Sustainability Award in 2023. 

“This award recognised a series of firsts by Passions of Paradise which include introducing citizen science tours on the Great Barrier Reef in 2021. 

“We were the first in Australia to use an autonomous drone to catalogue our citizen science and conservation efforts and have worked with scientists to assist with research into seagrass beds, sawfish, sharks and rays. 

“Our family-owned business was among the first to employ a marine biologist in 1997 to give interpretive tours and we achieved carbon-neutral status in 2012, a decade ahead of many operators. 

“Our ocean-loving team has planted more than 9000 corals on Hastings Reef off Cairns and undertaken more than 1000 surveys for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority’s Eye on the Reef program in the past 17 years. 

Passions of Paradise is a Climate Action Leader through Ecotourism Australia and has been an Eco Certified Advanced Ecotourism operator for more than two decades.” 

For more information go to passions.com.au.