Tourists fight detention centre for hotels

Christmas Island hotels are booked solid, but not with tourists, instead, people linked to the Immigration Detention Centre are filling the island's four hotels and the tour operators are suffering.

Giving the catch-cry, 'they're taking our jobs', a new perspective, Christmas Island dive boat operator Simon Prince told The Australian the Detention Centre was to blame for his flagging business.

Public servants, contractors and the like are booking out the island's 260 hotel rooms and while they may spend on dining, accommodation and shopping, they are not spending on touring, Mr Prince told the newspaper.

Those that have toured with Mr Prince usually only request short trips, while the majority seem to work "flat-out on fly-in, fly-out rosters", The Australian reported.

"There is literally nowhere for ... dive groups to stay and no cars for them to hire unless they book at least five months in advance," he said.

The longer his boat stays dry, the closer Mr Prince said he comes to closing his business.

Despite flights from Virgin making it easier for people to get to the Island, it is finding them a place to stay that causes the problem, Christmas Island Tourism Association chairwoman Lisa Preston said.

The percentage of people coming to Christmas Island dropped from 28 per cent to 20 per cent between September 2007 and February this year, as the percentage travelling there for work grew from 31 per cent to 55 per cent in the same period, reported the newspaper.

Sourced=etravelblackboard