Glamping business for Rotto
New "glamping" accommodation on Rottnest is a step closer, with authorities deciding to seek a private developer/operator for a facility behind the island's most popular swimming beach.
The site, behind the dunes at The Basin, is currently used for the island's wastewater treatment plant.
But with plans to shift the plant to a new light-industrial area near the airport, the land will be freed up to allow the campgrounds to be extended to include three or four-star glamping-style infrastructure.
Expressions of interest from the private sector for the project will be sought shortly.
The plan is in line with the island's 20-year strategy finalised this year and advocates private operators taking over half the island's accommodation.
Rottnest Island Authority chairman John Driscoll said the strategy was not all about "ritzy developments" but also fixing errors of the past.
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He told a recent meeting of island stakeholders that it was difficult to understand why the treatment plant and sewage evaporation ponds were put just 200m from the island's best beach.
"Part of our program is to shift the treatment plant by the end of the year, remediate the site and use it for a style of eco-tourism," he said.
Mr Driscoll has previously indicated he expects the glamping infrastructure to be quick and relatively simple to build.
It would "totally transform the area" and provide a terrific link to The Basin and Pinky's beach from the existing campgrounds.
Research for the RIA has indicated that West Australians are looking for alternative types of accommodation on the island.
"Glamping has become part of the vernacular and I think that's indicative of what people want to see as an accommodation option when they travel," Tourism Minister Kim Hames said. "When you're glamping, there's no tent to pitch, no sleeping bag to unroll, no campfire to build.
"It's a great option for people, especially couples, where one may want all the joys of camping while the other is after an experience with more of life's creature comforts.
"The idea for Rottnest is to maximise its location and offer local, national and international visitors accommodation options.
"They'll be able to conduct business, stay in a hotel, relax at a luxury resort, enjoy virtually effort-free glamping or pitch a tent with the kids the old-fashioned way."
Expressions of interest could also be sought this year for a new marina on the site of the army jetty in Thomson Bay.
In exchange for building and running the marina - and to improve the economic appeal of the project - a private operator gets access to beach land north of the jetty to develop short-stay holiday units, a restaurant or licensed cafe, and charter or cruise operations.
Another initiative identified in the strategy includes more eco-tourism accommodation at Mary Cove on the island's isolated southern coast.
