Tourism Council WA happy with Western Australia's best summer but fears challenges ahead

The Western Australia tourism industry is experiencing its best summer season ever, with an industry survey revealing business activity has grown by 5%.

The Tourism Pulse quarterly business activity survey - the only real-time survey results of how tourism is performing in Western Australia and is months ahead of official tourism statistics -revealed the 5% growth for the period from October to December, and an expected 8% growth from January to March 2020.

Commenting on the performance, Tourism Council WA Chief Executive, Evan Hall stated “the latest Tourism Pulse business activity survey reveals this summer is the best ever in many parts of Western Australia.

“This comes off the back of increased state government funding for Tourism WA marketing which has brought in increased international and interstate visitors.”

While the Tourism Pulse business activity survey revealed strong forward bookings for January to March, Hall fears that bushfires and the Coronavirus are having an immediate impact on tourism businesses, presenting real concerns for future bookings.

Hall added “the challenge ahead is to maintain the positive momentum of this summer throughout 2020.

“The state government can keep the marketing momentum going to shore up forward bookings in the wake of international coverage of Australian bushfires and now the coronavirus.”

While Western Australian tourism businesses are not at the epicentre of bushfire devastation or the Coronavirus, Hall is mindful that widespread media coverage can significantly affect international interest in travelling to the state.

He concluded “a recent survey revealed 67% of tourism businesses report an impact on their business as a result of the widespread media coverage of the bushfires, despite limited direct impact on WA businesses.

“WA tourism businesses are already reporting cancellations arising from the Chinese government’s suspension of outbound group travel, as well as cancellations from independent Chinese travellers.”

Image courtesy of Out and About Wine Tours.