Beginning April 1st, Accor will take over management of the Crocodile Hotel and Cooinda Lodge in Australia’s Kakadu National Park.
The 110-room Crocodile Hotel is the only deluxe accommodation in Kakadu. Renowned for its exterior crocodile shape, the hotel is built around a large, landscaped swimming pool and features several leisure and business facilities, including conference space for up to 250 delegates.
Cooinda Lodge sits next to the Yellow Water Billabong and is part of a hotel and tourism operation that includes the 48-room Lodge as well as a large camping site, a general store, fuel station, and the Warradjan Cultural Centre.
The hotels were the first major tourism properties developed in Australia by the Gagudju people, an indigenous organization. The Crocodile Hotel opened in 1988, shortly after the Crocodile Dundee films put an international tourism spotlight on the Kakadu region.
“What particularly attracted us to Accor is its championing of indigenous employment, which is a fundamental objective of the operation of the two properties,” says Rex Wild, chairman of Kakadu Tourism Pty Ltd. “The strength of the Australian dollar and the popularity of Asia as a holiday destination have affected tourism to Kakadu in recent years, but we believe that Kakadu is one of the world’s most significant tourism destinations and there is vast potential to grow visitation from both overseas and locally.”
