Importantly, the knowledge sought by the three studies is guided by this thesis‘s proposed
conceptual framework (Figure 1.1) and Moscardo et al.‘s (2004) model. The benefits of this
approach are twofold. First, conceptually established traits that describe the key elements shown in
Figure 1.1 can be incorporated into each study. In turn, this leads to outcomes that can be traced to
the established academic literature. Second, the results from each study can be linked to derive a
tourism-system model (Figure 7.6) that describes the conceptual, supply, and demand nature of
marine research tourism in Australia. Based on this model, a new definition for MRT can also be
derived to reflect the concepts shown in Figure 7.6 and the key elements presented in Figure 1.1.
Finally, as Moscardo et al.‘s (2004) model shows many key factors that contribute to change in
marine tourism patterns over the Great Barrier Reef then this tourism-system model is likely to
show key factors that contribute to change in marine research tourism patterns across Australia.