Growth in tourism spending from international and interstate visitors generated an estimated 8,000 full-time jobs in Western Australia in 2019.
“Over the past 12 months, WA tourism has recovered from the lows of 2017 and 2018, and is growing jobs once more,” Tourism Council WA CEO Evan Hall said.
“Tourism Council WA estimates that increased visitor spending created an additional 8,000 full-time jobs in 2019.”
The latest figures from the National Visitor Survey, released today, show interstate visitors to WA increased by 23 per cent. Mr Hall said the positive figures were bolstered by the 2019 event calendar.
“Western Australia’s incredible event calendar in 2019, including State of Origin and Manchester United matches, attracted hordes of visitors, particularly from interstate,” he said.
“Events to the scale of those in 2019 are not yet locked in for 2020. We need a boost in interstate marketing to make up for any shortfall in event visitors. Western Australia needs a solid and reliable calendar of events, year-in, year-out, to continue to attract interstate visitors.”
The International Visitor Survey results for the year ending September 2019 show international visitor expenditure in WA grew by seven per cent. It is the first time in two years that international visitor expenditure has increased.
The $12 million International Marketing Boost announced by the State Government in May 2019 has been effective in attracting more international visitors, however, the one-off funding has now been spent.
“The International Marketing Boost has affected a significant change to Western Australia’s international visitor numbers. The State Government must keep this momentum going and continue the growth in jobs created by visitor spending,” Mr Hall said.
“Tourism Council WA is calling on the State Government to maintain and increase marketing and events funding for Tourism WA to create more jobs for Western Australians.”
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