Submissions to Lakes Environmental closed on March 31, with 20 in favour and five opposing - mainly due to concerns about the neighbouring Chinese miners' village.
Developer Scott Stevens, the company's sole director, wants to construct an information centre at the cottage with the focus on "interactive gold panning".
Objector Ian Robertson, of Arrowtown, wrote, "Would any one of us be happy to have such a business right next to our cemetery or war memorial? . . . Please think this one through and don't destroy or harm the quiet beauty of New Zealand's only old and real Chinese memorial."
Mr Stevens said he was confident concerns about the Chinese village could be addressed.
"The whole proposal is based around celebrating the Chinese history in the area, and complementing the Chinese village is fundamental," he said.
The Lakes District Museum, the Arrowtown Promotion and Business Association and Patricia Robertson, of Arrowtown, also lodged objections.
The tourism base would tie in with Southern China Airline's newly launched thrice-weekly flights between Auckland and the Chinese city of Guangzhou, Mr Stevens said.
The link was expected to bring affluent, independent, "high yield" Chinese travellers to Queenstown from Guangzhou, which was recognised as an important financial hub and was home to 12 million people.
"This just emphasises the importance of the Chinese market and the more we can do to showcase their history in the country, the better."
Mr Stevens said the idea for the tourism base was born out of an Otago Regional Council scheme to have a Chinese heritage trail. It was hoped Arrowtown could be the start or finish point of a trail with Dunedin's Chinese Garden.
The renovation would cost between $280,000 and $500,000 and employ up to eight full and part-time staff.
The site would act as a base for guided walks at the Chinese settlement, gold-panning tours and 4WD expeditions, primarily to Macetown and surrounding areas.
The Queenstown and District Historical Society, the Stables restaurant owner Melissa Stadler, Mr Stevens' business associates Fergus and Alastair Spary, John Guthrie and Good Group director Russell Gray support the project.
The resource consent application will now go to a Queenstown Lakes District Council-appointed independent committee, with an outcome expected next month.
