A once popular Whitsunday holiday destination that was ravaged by cyclones in 2011 and 2017 is set to be given a new lease of life for eco-tourists.
Key points:
- Hook Island’s resort has been closed to tourists since February 2013
- Now, plans for a new eco-resort on the island have been approved by the Whitsunday Regional Council
- The move has been welcomed by the tourism industry, which says there is nothing like that in the local market currently
Visitors have not set foot on Hook Island since 2013, but they will be welcomed back when a resort combining camping, glamping, cabins, and lodges is built.
The Whitsunday Regional Council unanimously approved the development application from Hook Island Eco Resort at a meeting this week, which will bring tourism back to the island for the first time since it was abandoned.
ABC Tropical North: Tobi Loftus
)The council’s director of development services, Neil McGaffin, said the plan for the facility that aims to “foster cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation” was a positive step for the area.
“It’s a terrific opportunity for something different in the accommodation arena in the Whitsundays,” he said.
“It’s something different.”
The eco-resort will accommodate a maximum population of 280 people including day visitors, overnight stays, and staff in permanent structures and temporary structures like tents.
Most of the structures will be in locations around the island’s main beach, but there will also be hubs near Stingray Bay and other parts of the island.
Supplied: State Library of Queensland
)Tourism Whitsundays CEO Tash Wheeler said there was nothing like the planned development currently on any of the Whitsunday islands.
“If you look across the island accommodation offerings that we currently have they’re all quite different,” she said.
“And adding in that next level of eco-experience will be a different offering once again and attract repeat visitors, but also a new audience.
Hook Island was declared a National Park in 1936, and by 1969 was a major tourist destination with the opening of the Hook Island Underwater Observatory.
The observatory was closed in 2010, and in 2011 the island was hit by Cyclone Anthony.
The resort has not operated since February 2013, and the island was further damaged by Cyclone Debbie in 2017.
Supplied: State Library of Queensland
)Mr McGaffin said potential weather situations had been factored in to this new resort’s plan.
“We’re in cyclonic area so we’ve got to accept that,” he said.
