Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management Strategy ...

Introduction
Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management Strategy
2.1 Background and context
The Whitsunday and Mackay area is experiencing
substantial growth. More than 1,400,000 people visit each
year making it one of the most popular tourist destinations
within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area. There is
also significant residential growth in Mackay City,
Whitsunday and Sarina shires. With new residential and
tourist developments, it is expected that visitor use of
national parks and islands will continue to grow. At some
national park islands, high visitor use is having a significant
impact on the environment, as well as affecting the quality
of their experience. This Visitor Management Strategy aims
to address these issues.
Island national parks are key parts of an integrated strategy
to conserve natural and cultural heritage in Queensland.
Islands also offer unique opportunities for eco-tourism and
recreation, providing significant commercial opportunities
and contributing to regional and State economies. Despite
this environmental, social and economic importance, many
Whitsunday and Mackay islands have inadequate facilities.
Previous planning efforts have sought to address visitor
management issues in the Whitsunday and Mackay area.
Much of this effort focused on managing the marine
component of visitor use, culminating in the rezoning of
the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and release of the
Whitsunday Plan of Management, both developed by the
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA). The
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003 defines
activities that can occur within the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park and the locations in which they can occur.
Zoning plans try to balance human use with conservation.
The Whitsunday Plan of Management applies settings that
place limits on vessel size, passenger load, type of craft,
facilities and certain activities in the marine park.
The Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management
Strategy will build on, but not duplicate, previous planning
efforts. The Strategy focuses on national park islands and
adjoining beaches rather than the Great Barrier Reef
Marine Park.
2.2 Purpose
The Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management
Strategy will provide a framework for future management of
visitors to national parks and adjacent beaches.
The Strategy will:
1. identify visitor sites and patterns of use
2. develop a system of management settings for islands
and individual sites
3. identify sites that require immediate site planning and
remedial works
4. provide a policy framework for sustainable tourism and
visitor use.
2.3 Planning area
This Strategy applies to offshore national park islands and
adjoining beaches between Bowen and Sarina in Central
Queensland. The planning area falls wholly or partly within
the Bowen, Whitsunday, Sarina and Broadsound Shire
Councils, and Mackay City Council. The following are not
included in the planning area:
» freehold or leasehold land on islands
» national parks or beaches on the mainland
» marine areas below low tide within the Commonwealth
Great Barrier Reef Marine Park or Queensland Great
Barrier Reef Coast Marine Park.