Tourism Council WA sees domestic visitor decline amid economic pressures

Tourism Council WA’s latest quarterly tourism business survey reveals the industry experienced a 17% decrease in net business activity in the sector for June quarter, the first downturn since the re-opening of Western Australia’s border.

Explaining that cost of living and rise in interest rates were catching up to Western Australians, dissuading them from travelling, Tourism Council WA Chief Executive, Evan Hall advised “during the pandemic, Perth residents travelled to regional Western Australia and particularly the South West in large numbers, driving demand for accommodation although attractions struggled from the lack of interstate travel.

“Now we are seeing domestic tourism declining but international travel has not recovered enough to cover the slow down.”

Noting that Western Australia had not been securing international air routes and services from overseas tourism markets as fast as other states, Hall added “government spending on attracting airlines and major events will be critical to bringing international and interstate travellers to WA as local tourism slows down.”

While acknowledging that the Western Australian Government’s $6 million commitment to assisting businesses in the state’s north was helpful to affected businesses, Hall noted that the North West suffered the largest decline in activity in the June quarter due to the Kimberley floods.

There has also been a major drop off in bookings in the North West for this season and next season.

Business activity varied significantly between regions, with Australia’s Coral Coast operators attributing an increase in activity to the Solar Eclipse event in April. Meanwhile, the South West region was negatively affected as fewer Perth residents travelled down for a holiday as a result of economic pressures.

Applications open for TCWA mentoring program
Tourism Council WA is now accepting applications from tourism businesses for the 2023/24 round of the Tourism Boost mentoring program. Tourism Boost assists tourism businesses at various stages of market readiness to improve how they sell their product online and through trade channels by pairing them with a mentor who will assist on a one-on-one basis to achieve customised outcomes.

Click here for more information.

Image: Visits to the Kimberley have been impacted by flooding in January this year.