Qld's reef resorts languishing

Queensland is missing out on tourism dollars because of the deterioration of resorts on about half of its Great Barrier Reef islands.

The state government says of the 24 resorts on leasehold land within the World-Heritage reef, only 13 are open.

Of the 11 that are closed, nine have redevelopment plans in place and the future of the remaining two is subject to private negotiations.

The government on Sunday announced an inter-agency taskforce would be appointed to help rejuvenate the run-down resorts and maximise economic benefits.

"Securing the reef's iconic reputation and flow-on benefits to the tourism sector are key considerations moving forward," Environment Minister Steven Miles said.

Tourism minister Kate Jones said the Whitsunday region had welcomed more than 655,000 visitors in the past 12 months.

"Tourism is worth more than $800 million to the region and supports more than 7000 local jobs," she said.

Ms Jones said it was important the reef resorts be rejuvenated so they could offer "world-class" experiences to visitors.