Marketing Boost to Support Tourism; Jobs

Tourism Council WA has welcomed the announcement of a multimillion-dollar marketing boost to support businesses impacted by cancellations and reduced forward bookings stemming from perception of bushfire impact and the coronavirus outbreak.

The State Government today announced $2.85 million in new funding to attract interstate visitors to Western Australia through co-operative marketing, airline partnerships, and trade partners, and encourage intrastate travel.

A recent industry survey revealed 67 per cent of tourism businesses reported some impact from international bushfire coverage, including some immediate cancellations and softer forward bookings, particularly from self-drive tourists and international markets such as the UK.

"The international perception that much of Australia was impacted by recent devastating bushfire is affecting the whole industry," Tourism Council WA CEO Evan Hall said.

"More than 30 per cent of businesses surveyed reported cancellations or reduced forward bookings."

Mr Hall said businesses were reporting group and individual cancellations from Chinese visitors due to the coronavirus outbreak.

"We commend the State Government for taking this immediate step to inject new marketing funding to support our tourism industry and local jobs," Mr Hall said.

"By encouraging interstate and intrastate markets to visit our tourism destinations and book with local operators, the industry can continue its revived performance.

"We encourage Western Australians to holiday in WA this year and enjoy our State's amazing tourism regions, and in turn, support local communities."