Rottnest Island and Cape to Cape Track among tourist destinations to benefit from funding

The Western Australian Government has announced that it will be investing almost $26 million to upgrade and improve key tourism sites across Western Australia.

Rottnest Island, Cape to Cape Track and Karijini National Park are among the sites to receive funding aimed at ensuring sites remain world-class, attract interstate and overseas tourists, and support local businesses and operators.

As part of the recent 2023-24 Mid-Year Review, $25.9 million was allocated to the following tourism attractions:

• additional $10.7 million to enhance safe and ongoing access to Rottnest Island, under the Rottnest Island Main Jetty refurbishment and upgrade project;

• additional $5.2 million to deliver improved facilities at Karijini National Park including sealed road and car park access to the most popular gorge and visitor sites;

• $4.6 million for the replacement of the Hamelin Pool boardwalk in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area;

• $2.7 million to undertake repairs and upgrades to the Cape to Cape track in the South West region, including updates to signage; and

• $2.7 million to improve access to the Wellington National Park and pedestrian access to the Wellington Dam Mural.

Western Australia has had a booming year in tourism, with close to 2.4 million people from interstate and overseas visiting in the year ending September 2023.

Of these, more than a third visited the Kimberley, Gascoyne or South West region.

Rottnest Island also had a record-breaking year, with nearly 730,000 visitors to the island in 2022-23 by ferry.

WA Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti notes "Attractions and infrastructure are a critical part of tourism, and ensuring these facilities and sites remain world-class is so important.

"Places like Rottnest Island and regions like the South West, North West and Coral Coast are already tourism hotspots attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, so we need to make sure they remain fit for purpose.

"Importantly, these improvements will also support our local operators, who rely on good infrastructure to keep attracting visitors."

Image top: Cape to Cape Track. Credit: Trails WA; image above: Rottnest Island Main Jetty. Credit: Rottnest Island Authority