Mount Buffalo is on track to receive 250,000 sightseers a year by 2021, with visitation growing annually by five per cent since the 2006 fires.
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The last time the tourist numbers hit that count was in 1995, when the Mount Buffalo Chalet was still open.
These figures form part of the Mount Buffalo Destination Advisory Group's proposal for the site, presented to Parks Victoria on Thursday.
Included in the report is a tourism gap analysis from SGS Economics and Planning, supporting a sky-walk over the Gorge as attracting the most interest from potential tourists judging “nature-based” attraction ideas across the North East.
The analysis also referenced the Regional Tourism Action Plan, which named the Mount Buffalo Chalet’s redevelopment a “priority”.
The full plan from MBDAG shows the southern wing of the building would be redeveloped for high-end suites, the Manfield’s cafe transitioned into a day visitor centre and the stable space utilised for events.
It recommended the maximum lease term of 50 years be amended, being “poorly suited to the operation of the Mount Buffalo Chalet.”
At Sunday’s preview of the plans, former lessee of the chalet Dean Belle said the arrangement needed to reflect modern Alpine leasing.
“There was a huge amount of work that needed to be done to get it to a 21-year lease,” he said.
“We signed that probably through rose-tinted glasses, but with a handshake from various people in government to say, ‘We recognise 21 is not enough, but we can’t do more at the moment’.
“Post-closing down, there was a discussion about 65 years as a space to have discussions in.”
Parks Victoria East Region regional director Graeme Baxter said the plans would be taken to government for consideration.
“The chair of the MBDAG (Janelle Boynton) presented the community’s vision to Parks Victoria on Thursday; our role was to support the group in the development of this vision report,” he said.
“The views expressed throughout are those of the community which means we have a really positive, community-generated result.”
