Easter to kick off busy time for tourism industry

TOURISM operators across the Whitsundays are preparing for a bumper Easter and April school holidays, with solid bookings recorded across the region.

Whitsundays Marketing and Development Limited (WMDL) Executive Director, Jeff Aquilina, said many resorts and tours were near capacity, with strong forward bookings continuing throughout April.

Cumberland Charter Yachts Reservations and Marketing Manager, Sharon McNally, said the company was preparing for one of their busiest times.

“Many of our charter boats are booked for the long weekend and April school holidays and with spectacular weather and a few extra days off it is not hard to see why,” she said.

BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort owner Greg McKinnon said Easter was a very busy time for the resort with a choc-a-block activities schedule to keep everyone entertained.

“We are fairly solidly booked throughout the Easter holidays in cabins, with just a few gaps at this stage for any last minute bookings,” he said.

“We have a full activities schedule with Easter egg hunts, outdoor movies, pancake breakfasts and plenty more, plus we also have our annual Chocolate Week activities in the second week of the school holidays, so we expect it to be a fun holiday period for everyone.”

Mr Aquilina said people planning to visit the Whitsundays this Easter needed to make sure they planned ahead and booked accommodation and tours quickly to avoid disappointment.