Tourism Council WA has welcomed the $185 million Reconnect WA package announced by the State Government today, which includes $65 million for marketing to attract tourists, workers and international students.
As Western Australia eases border controls under the Safe Transition Plan, it will be competing with other States for interstate and international guests, including workers and students.
“The Reconnect WA package is a good start to help Western Australia compete with other States in what is already proving to be an incredibly competitive market,” Tourism Council WA CEO Evan Hall said.
“We suspect more funding will be needed for Western Australia to secure events, tourists and workers given the significant investment of competing States.”
Mr Hall said it was critical the Reconnect WA package was extended to include funding to assist tourism businesses recover from the effects of the pandemic and ongoing travel restrictions.
“Tour operators across WA, and particularly in Perth, have been heavily impacted by restrictions. These are the tourism businesses we need to regain international and interstate visitors to Perth and then into regional Western Australia,” Mr Hall said.
“Many tourism businesses have been without income from international or interstate guests for close to two years. Financial support is needed for distressed businesses to pay operational costs such as insurance and State Government licence fees to remain open until international and more interstate visitors return.”
