Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management Strategy ...

Planning approach
Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management Strategy
A QPWS project team developed this Strategy. A multiagency
steering committee comprising representatives from
QPWS, EPA, GBRMPA, Tourism Whitsunday, Association of
Marine Park Tourism Operators and Tourism Queensland
guided the project team.
The planning process involved research into the natural,
social and cultural values, and tourism and recreational use
trends of islands. Visitor sites and management issues were
identified, and visitor attitudes at key sites surveyed.
The project team visited more than 100 visitor sites between
April and December 2005. Community representatives and
tour operators accompanied QPWS staff on a number of
trips. As part of the assessment process, teams described the
visitor site and recorded site parameters and levels of visitor
use. For each site, the level of natural and human-modified
elements in the landscape was recorded using the QPWS
Landscape Classification System. Visitor impacts, risks and
management issues were assessed and recorded. This
information was used to classify sites into visitor
management settings.
Hill Inlet
In developing the Strategy, community and industry
stakeholders were consulted through the establishment of
an Airlie Beach Management Advisory Group. This group is
made up of representatives from local government,
community organisations and the tourism industry.
Consultation occurred with GBRMPA Tourism and
Recreation Reef Advisory Committee, Mackay and Airlie
Beach Local Marine Advisory Committees, Traditional Owner
representatives and tourism operators.
A public submission process was conducted in late 2005
involving a “call for comment”. Submissions informed the
early stages of strategy development. A draft Strategy was
released for public comment in December 2006.
The Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management
Strategy has been formally adopted as EPA policy and will
provide a framework for future visitor management.