TOURISM RECOVERY EFFORT STARTS ON RIGHT FOOT

The Australian Hotels Association (WA) has welcomed the $12 million marketing campaign to encourage Australians to Wander Out Yonder and rediscover Western Australia, coinciding with today’s border reopening.

AHA(WA) CEO Bradley Woods said after two years of COVID-19 and countless changes to WA’s border controls, the WA Government was making the right decision in commencing well-funded marketing campaigns to lure visitors back to the state.

“The scale of the effort that will be required in the years ahead to revitalise WA’s tourism industry is colossal, but we know there is an appetite to hit the ground running and get visitors on planes as quickly as possible,” Mr Woods said.

“We are confident the WA Government and Tourism WA have the desire and the key personnel in place to get WA on the path to pre-pandemic visitation levels.”

“This is just one of a number of initiatives that will be required in the months ahead as WA seeks to entice domestic travellers, overseas visitors, international students, working holidaymakers and the all-important corporate visitors back to WA.”

“While there is much work to be done, WA as a product has only been enhanced over the past two years, with our state one of the safest places on the planet, with an unrivalled natural beauty and a world-class food and beverage offering.”

“Perth hotel booking data for the next 90 days shows a vast improvement on the previous year, however the data also shows there is a very long road to recovery ahead.”