Curtis Island Ecotourism Master Plan

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Strategy and Spatial AnalysisTourism

Client
Queensland Government Department of Environment, Science and Innovation (DESI)

Collaborators
Urban Enterprise

Disciplines
Landscape Architecture
Urban Design

Location
North Curtis Island, Gladstone Region QLD

Date
2024

Imagery
Tract

10kms north of Gladstone, within the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, lies Curtis Island - a beautiful remote marine island around 45km in length.
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Only accessible by private boat, charter aircraft or by four-wheel drive (via a ferry at the southernmost tip), the island offers rugged exploration with off-road tracks, unique landscapes, capes, and secluded beaches.

Drawcards of the island include the turmeric sands and turquoise waters of Yellow Patch, estuarine wetlands teaming with birdlife and the third largest flatback turtle rookery in Queensland.

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Following DESI’s acquisition of a long-standing, degraded cattle property, Tract’s team were engaged to re-imagine Curtis Island’s ecotourism opportunities, exploring the feasibility and implementation options of the degraded1, 500-hectare property and its surrounding protected areas.

Significantly limited by its accessibility, the site’s constraints and nearby tourism market competitors, our multi-disciplinary team determined a key factor for success was increasing, diversifying and elevating the accommodation options and recreational activities across the island.

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To achieve this, a robust, flexible and multi-phased approach was proposed. Each phase expanded upon the previous, emanating from the existing offering at Cape Keppel Beach resort and providing complementary experiences and facilities.

The ultimate strategy exponentially increased Curtis Island’s accommodation capacity from 25 to 200 overnight visitors and provided diverse activities for both experiencing and contributing to the island’s unique and varied environments and habitats. This provided DESI with a strong base from which to further explore and test the feasibility of future ecotourism opportunities for the Island.

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