As a remote tropical outpost teeming with unique wildlife, Christmas Island shouldn't have any trouble attracting visitors.

Yet after more than a decade of hosting a detention centre that became the flashpoint for a divisive immigration policy, the island has an image problem.

Today, a long — and as some say, unfair — association with immigration detention continues to be a thorn in the side of a growing industry: tourism.

And with Prime Minister Scott Morrison announcing that the centre would reopen, misconceptions that irk locals like Alicia Hong, 19, seem unlikely to go away.

"When people ask me, I say I'm a Christmas Islander. I had someone ask me, how did you get here? Did you come by boat?"

"They think we are refugees. They don't understand that we are locals," said 27-year-old Brina Lee, another island resident.

Christmas Island is well known for its many crab species, including the enormous robber crab. ( ABC News: Tom Joyner )

For years, a quiet campaign has been waged behind the scenes to change the way the island is perceived by the outside world.

The concerted efforts led by local authorities to transform its image from detention island to tropical paradise are showing results.

Visitor numbers doubled to 2,050 in 2018 on the previous year, according to the island's tourism association.

Most of its rebranding has focused on the island's cornucopia of unique wildlife and its pristine coral reefs, which have made it a coveted diving spot.

'We haven't been spoiled by mass tourism'

Locals on the remote island, a four-hour flight north-west of Perth, have long advocated for greater investment in tourism.

As the phosphate mining industry that has driven Christmas Island's economy for more than a century winds down, the island is turning to tourism as one possible new path.

"The island's had 30 years to start refocusing but I feel to some degree that hasn't been done," said Lisa Preston, chair of the island's tourism association.

Christmas Island has been unspoiled by mass tourism, says the local tourism association. ( ABC News: Tom Joyner )

Ms Preston said a pivot towards tourism was not only a good option for the island, it was an imperative part of its economic survival.

"There hasn't been enough forward planning to prevent a serious economic downturn if the mine closed."

Boasting immaculate coves, dense jungle and a raft of endemic animal and bird species, many on the island say tourists don't know what they've been missing until they arrive.

But expensive and irregular flights from mainland Australia and a lack of tourism infrastructure have been obstacles to the growth of an industry that remains in its infancy.

Without public transport, the island is not easy to get around, and only has a handful of hotels.

There is also not a lot of shopping or nightlife — it's no Bali.

Correct misconceptions about the island and the tourists will come, says Chris Bray. ( ABC News: Tom Joyner )

In fact, authorities hope to lure a different kind of visitor: older, wealthier and interested in outdoor exploration.

"We haven't been spoiled by mass tourism," Ms Preston said. "We don't have that many people living here, we've got a clean environment."

The federal Department of Infrastructure funds the island's tourism association, and has made a number of recent investments to support the industry.

These include marketing and promotion, local skills development, and upgrades to the island's airport.

A spokesperson said it was providing almost $20 million over four years to underwrite flights to Christmas Island and its neighbour, the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

Two Christmas Islands

The island already has a wealth of natural assets to make it an attractive holiday.

It is known to be among the world's best scuba diving destinations, and its annual red crab migration is known globally.

As the island's biggest earner, mining, winds down, locals hope to grow the tourism industry. ( ABC News: Tom Joyner )

Now it is simply a matter of correcting misconceptions about the island for the tourists to come, according to Chris Bray, who, with his wife Jess, owns an eco-lodge on the island.

"That negative connotation has done the island enormous damage for tourism because it's completely not the case."

A BBC documentary made about the island's famous red crabs by legendary filmmaker David Attenborough provided a boost in profile, Mr Bray said.

"Thankfully, overseas it's not so bad. But in the Australian market it needs a lot of help."

There is a low crime rate among the island's 1,800 or so residents, who are known to leave cars and houses unlocked while they are out.

Christmas Island's detention centre, closed in 2018, is set to reopen. ( AAP: Lloyd Jones )

To complicate matters, there are in fact two Christmas Islands, the other being an atoll in the Pacific nation of Kiribati.

But the detention centre, which drew worldwide coverage, has definitively put the Australian territory on the map, said local travel agent Jee Foo.

"It is an image problem slightly, but I think we have a lot more to benefit from the publicity.

"In the past, nobody had thought of Christmas Island. At least now they have heard about it."