The low Australian dollar and a rise in domestic visitors as they opt for "staycations"​ has also underpinned the Whitsunday-based island's hotel occupancy rate to 93.2 per cent, a rise of between 8 to 11 per cent, depending on the various accommodation offerings.

Since being acquired by the Oatley family in 2003 for about $200 million, they have spent close to $400 million in further developments to create a destination for the rich and famous to the family travellers wanting a school holiday break.

Patriarch Bob Oatley died in January this year, but the family's ongoing commitment to reinvest significant capital each year has proven profitable, particularly when many islands have gone bankrupt over the past decade.

Hamilton Island's chief executive Glenn Bourke said the island continued to achieve strong occupancy results "year after year", with a 15 per cent increase in annual room revenue on the back of room nights sold, which were up by 11 per cent on 2015.

He said the coming year was tipped to be stable, albeit in single-digits, partly as a result of capacity increases from Qantas and Virgin, and ongoing strong demand from short-stay visitors.

Mr Bourke said sales and bookings for the first quarter of 2017 are above last year and in line with forecasts.

"Hamilton Island's results have been underpinned by three things: the multimillion-dollar reinvestment strategy to keep the island's offering updated and fresh; the lower Australian dollar; and healthy competition among Australian's airlines, bringing more guests to the Island," Mr Bourke said.

Domestic booking growth was led by Victoria, up 13 per cent and NSW up 7 per cent, while inbound bookings saw growth of 23 per cent from Britain, 20 per cent from Japan and 18 per cent from China.