06 Jan 2015
Long Island Resort in the heart of the Whitsundays is pleased to announce that it will undergo a substantial upgrade of existing facilities during 2015.
In addition, planning for a major redevelopment of underutilised land at the Resort, including building 160 new accommodation units is also well underway. A formal development application is being prepared for submission to the Whitsunday Regional Council in early 2015.
Current facilities on Long Island include 140 guest accommodation units in the main resort, with the majority enjoying absolute beach frontage and outstanding water views, as well as 50 beds in its backpacker accommodation (Barefoot Lodge), and 45 staff units.
Long Island Resort is superbly located on the Hamilton, Daydream, Long Island and Airlie Beach ferry circuit and is the closest Whitsunday Island Resort to the mainland. The Resort enjoys outstanding access to the natural beauty of the Whitsundays with its location on the large Long Island National Park. Long has extensive walking tracks and wildlife and flora over its 9 kilometres of length. The Resort is built on the Happy Bay beachfront which is acknowledged as one of the finest beaches in the whole of the Whitsundays.
The Resort was originally developed by the leading global tourism company Contiki in the mid 1980's at a cost of around $30million at that time and has been owned by the Ocean Hotels and Tourism group since 1995. Over the last 2 years Ocean Hotels and Tourism group has invested several million dollars into upgrades and refurbishments of its other assets including Sunlover Reef Cruises in Cairns, and Club Croc Hotel Airlie Beach.
The outlook for the Whitsundays continues to strengthen, driven by the recent substantial fall in the Australian dollar and its projected effect of encouraging more Australians to holiday in Australia, as well as the effect of encouraging the continued growth of inbound markets, particularly from the Asian region. Ensuring all Ocean Hotels and Tourism group products are ready to cater for this influx continues to be a key priority.
The substantially upgraded Long Island Resort is expected to reopen in 2016 after closing for the Wet Season at the end of January 2015.
For further information, please contact:
Julie Duncan
Group General Manager
