The Council tell us 8 and 12 Storeys is required because Airlie ‘Needs’ More Hotels: Not according to the Deloitte Access Economics Report “Queensland Tourism – Industry Outlook and Potential to 2020” (PDF)
“5.9.4 Hotel accommodation
Table 5.35 presents the number of rooms required to meet tourist numbers forecast for the Whitsundays region. A 55% occupancy rate is forecast for 2020 by the TFC, while the industry potential indicates a 70% occupancy rate will be observed.
Therefore, existing hotel infrastructure appears to be readily sufficient to meet future increases in visitor nights.“
You can download the full report at
https://www.destq.com.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/116552/tourism-outlook-2020-report.pdf
The Whitsundays section starts at page 88 (TFC = the Tourism Forecasting Committee)