Whitsunday and Mackay Islands Visitor Management Strategy ...

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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.
MAP 1 Planning area locality Introduction
Page 1 and 2: Visitor Management Strategy Whitsun
Page 3 and 4: Table of contents 1 Executive summa
Page 5: Recreational boating at Hook Island
Page 9 and 10: Tourism trends The Mackay region (b
Page 11 and 12: Hill Inlet Planning approach “ T
Page 13 and 14: Table 5.1 Setting High use Moderate
Page 15 and 16: Table 5.3 Visitor use permitted wit
Page 17 and 18: Cid Harbour Views of Shaw Island fr
Page 19 and 20: Table 6.3 Significant capital inves
Page 21 and 22: Management strategies » » » Conc
Page 23 and 24: Whitsunday Island » » » Table 6.
Page 25 and 26: Table 6.5.1 Future camping manageme
Page 27 and 28: 6.6 Resorts and developments The fo
Page 29 and 30: 6.8 Education and information 6.9 W
Page 31 and 32: Strategy review and evaluation This
Page 33 and 34: Acknowledgements This Visitor Manag

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