First Nations Eco-Tourism Precinct Greenlit on Sunshine Coast

Overall, the project will deliver 14,931sq m of gross lettable area integrating a cultural centre and focus on food tourism, wellbeing, functions as well as short-stay accommodation comprising a 90-room hotel.

Central to the development is a cultural partnership developed in consultation with the Kabi Kabi people, the traditional custodians of the land, that has provided an authentic First Nations-led model in a bid to shift the paradigm in tourism development, aligning cultural preservation with commercial viability to generate long-term opportunities.

“This precinct is an opportunity to demonstrate what strong cultural entrepreneurship can look like, where culture, Country, tourism and business come together in a way that is authentic, respectful and commercially sustainable,” Aunty Dale Chapman, a member of the Queensland Indigenous Chamber of Commerce, said.

“It is about creating opportunities for First Nations people to lead, build businesses, develop new skills and share culture on their own terms.

“Just as importantly, it creates a destination where visitors can connect more deeply with the Sunshine Coast through native foods, storytelling and cultural experiences.”

▲ The approved four-stage Palmview tourism precinct development integrates a 90-room hotel.

The project’s centrepiece cultural centre will anchor First Nations experiences across the destination, including native food and bush tucker dining, cultural storytelling, and guided walks through 45ha of bushland earmarked for walking trails, mountain biking and education-based nature experiences and a lake approved for nature-based tourism.

Sustainability is embedded into the design, with the precinct’s buildings planned for mass timber construction, targeting a low-carbon build that matches its nature-based positioning, while the forested precinct offers carbon credit potential alongside its recreation and eco tourism uses.

Maroochydore-based company Hanseath is behind the development, the plans for which were first revealed in 2018-19 and have undergone a rigorous planning process it described as “one of the region’s most thoroughly tested tourism approvals”.

Director Nelson Riddle said strong interest had already been fielded from local operators wanting to be part of the precinct, spanning food and beverage, eco tourism, wellness and events.

“A destination pairing paddock-to-plate food experiences and nature-based tourism with accommodation, wellness and function facilities is exactly what the region is missing, and the strong interest we are seeing from local operators confirms it,” he said.

▲ Renderings of the eco-tourism precinct’s buildings planned for mass timber construction (left) and the masterplan.

“This approval is the culmination of eight years of work with government, council and the community. It unearths one of the most strategically positioned landholdings in South-East Queensland and creates the eco and food tourism destination the Sunshine Coast needs.

“With the Sunshine Coast hosting triathlon, road cycling and marathon swimming at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, and an identified shortfall of 1800 hotel rooms in the region, the timing could not be better.”

The site on Frizzo Connection Road—about 2km north of the popular Aussie World amusement park—adjacent to the recently completed Bruce Highway upgrade sits within an area designated a “man-made tourism focus area” under the Sunshine Coast Planning Scheme 2014.

Together, the green light for the First Nations-led project along with Aussie World’s approval in March for a $60 million waterpark expansion are touted to cement Palmview as the Sunshine Coast’s premier tourism hub.