The development of a new family-friendly Sunshine Coast holiday park is drawing nearer, with the project open for public consultation from tomorrow, Friday 9 June, following assessment by the Sunshine Coast Council.

The proposal by leading Australian regional tourism company G’day Group would see the development of more than 340 tourist sites, featuring a mix of cabins, glamping tents, powered and unpowered camp sites, as well and family-friendly recreation facilities, including a splash park, pool, mini golf course and BMX track.

The property, which is located just two minutes off the Bruce Highway on Steve Irwin Way, would operate under G’day Group’s Discovery Parks brand, which has more than 85 locations around Australia.

With public consultation open until 4 July, the community and local businesses now have an opportunity to have their say on the proposal. The project already has strong support from high-profile tourism operators such as Australia Zoo, Aussie World, Visit Sunshine Coast and Big Kart Track, who have all offered letters in support of the development.

G’day Group has a strong track record of developing quality holiday parks around Australia and the Glenview Discovery Parks development is also expected to deliver significant economic benefits for the Sunshine Coast.

In March 2022, the company unveiled a $22 million redevelopment of its Discovery Parks property in the South Australian coastal holiday town of Goolwa. In the 12 months since the development was completed, the park has injected more than $11.2 million into the local economy and delivered an additional 16,000 accommodation nights to the town.

G’day Group Chief Investment Officer Amanda Baldwin said the proven Discovery Parks model was an ideal complement to the Sunshine Coast’s hinterland tourism precinct.

“With visitor nights to the Sunshine Coast expected to increase by more than four million over the next decade, our development will provide much needed accommodation infrastructure to support the region’s tourism growth,” Mrs Baldwin said.

“Importantly, as evidenced by the great support we’ve received from other tourism operators in the region, the development will complement existing and emerging tourism attractions, such as the proposed Invigorate Resort and Actventure Waterpark.

“As a company, we have significant experience of investing in communities across Australia’s regions to support visitation growth and increase destination appeal, which has a positive flow on effects for other local operators.”

Director and Owner of Australia Zoo Terri Irwin AM said the project would benefit the Sunshine Coast in the long-term.

“The development of quality accommodation is in urgent need across the destination, which is why Australia Zoo recently launched and will continue to expand The Crocodile Hunter Lodge,” she said.

“These projects will complement each other well, delivering much needed inventory to the region of a quality with recognised brands that are aligned to destination development plans.

“They will go a long way to increasing our overnight visitation to the region as well as providing cross-selling opportunities supporting all local attractions, including Australia Zoo.

“We also believe these new exciting products will stimulate further investment and product development within the region as we work towards expanding length of stay on the Sunshine Coast.”

Image: Proposed site plan for the Discovery Parks development at Glenview golf course

Image: Example cabin 

Image: Example safari tent

Media enquiries: Brittany Harmer, Corporate Communications Manager | 0415 655 191, brittany.harmer@discoveryparks.com.au.

About G’day Group

Founded in 2004 with three caravan parks in WA, G’day Group is now Australia’s leader in regional accommodation experiences with more than 340 properties across the country.

G’day Group operates more than 90 holiday parks and resorts under the Discovery Parks and Resorts brand, with properties in iconic regional destinations, including Kings Canyon, Rottnest Island and the world famous El Questro. The Group is also home to G’day Parks, a network of 240+ independently owned, licensed parks and the G’day Rewards loyalty program, which has 260,000 paid members.

Beyond holiday parks and resorts, the Group owns Wikicamps, Australia’s largest regional travel community and the #1 paid app in the App Store with more than 300k monthly active users, as well as Bookeasy, a specialist provider of booking management systems and technology solutions to leading destination management authorities in Australia and New Zealand (operating as BookIt).

G’day Group has property assets valued at $2 billion and is on track to become a $2.5 billion business by 2026. The company is majority owned by Australian Retirement Trust and founder and CEO Grant Wilckens is a Board Director of the South Australian Tourism Commission and former Chair of the Caravan Industry Association of Australia.