Assistant State Development Minister and Member for Mackay Julieanne Gilbert has officially opened the $140 million Daydream Island resort in the Whitsundays.
“This is a historic milestone for Queensland’s tourism industry,” she said.
“We get to celebrate the rebirth of this resort after the devastation of Cyclone Debbie in 2017.
“Daydream Island resort had a soft opening in April with occupancy in the first two weeks capped at 75 per cent to put staff through their paces.
“Executives have told me it was a great result with strong bookings from tourists keen to experience the revamped offering.”
Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said the reopening marked a new beginning for Daydream Island.
“The Great Barrier Reef is our greatest tourism asset. Attracting millions more tourists to our Great Barrier Reef resorts is an important part of our strategy to grow our tourism industry,” she said.
“That’s why we’re investing more than $55 million to partner with the private sector to restore these resorts to their former glory.”
The Great Barrier Reef contributes $3.9 billion to the state’s economy and supports more than 33,000 jobs.
Ms Jones said Daydream Island resort offered 277 rooms and suites, three new restaurants and three new bars supporting 240-250 ongoing jobs for the region.
“The reopening of Daydream Island resort is a major milestone for our tourism industry and will create hundreds of jobs for locals,” she said.
“We’re committed to working with tourism operators to create jobs in our state.”
Ms Jones said one of the island’s attractions was one of the world largest man made living coral reef lagoons – a 1.5 million litre body of water that would be home to more than 100 species of fish and 80 species of coral.
The reopening of Daydream Island resort comes only days after the Palaszczuk Government boosted the tourism budget by $20 million.
Ms Jones said the government was working hard to support tourism operators through the Great Barrier Reef Island Resorts Rejuvenation Program and the $7 million Tourism Recovery Fund.
“By working with the private sector, we’ve been able to leverage about $1 billion of proposed private investment.”
