Miles singled out resorts on Hinchinbrook, Brampton, Hook and Lindeman islands as spoiling the area’s tourism industry and the international attractiveness of the Great Barrier Reef.
At a meeting last Friday with the Queensland tourism industry council the Minister said “The embarrassing thing is most are on state-owned land, including national parks – so to do nothing is unacceptable – we need to take action. While I appreciate there is genuine interest in rejuvenating some of these island resorts, I’m concerned not enough is being done fast enough to revitalise these stranded tourism assets.”
The Hinchinbrook island wilderness lodge on the island of Cardwell is slowly being ruined by the elements since closing its doors in 2010 due to financial troubles brought on by the economic downturn.
The Brampton Island holiday resort is reported to be looking more like a vacant movie set than a holiday resort. Everything seems to be in the right place, even the train that used to commute tourists is still there, but it’s eerie without people.
The wilderness resort on Hook Island is closed and, according to its website, operating in caretaker mode.
There is some good news for the once popular Club Med in Lindeman Island. It may have closed its doors back in January 2012, but it’s been purchased by a Chinese company that has recently unveiled plans to turn it into a $500 million dollar marina, six-star spa resort and eco resort.
Miles wants to deal with issues holding back investment and lead the way for recovery into a very successful tourism industry.
