Western Australia urges trade to dispel bushfires ‘misinformation’

Nathan Harding, chair of Tourism Western Australia, thanked agents for their “incredibly heartfelt support” towards Australia during the ongoing crisis impacting parts of Southern Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.

He said despite Western Australia being unaffected, international press reporting and social media content had “not always been accurate”, depicting “all of Australia on fire”, and urged agents to help dispel consumer fears.

Leisure visitors from the UK to the region rose to 133,000 in the year ending September 2019 – up 3.2% year-on-year – with Western Australia achieving an increased 27% market share of British guests.

A “bed boom” of new hotel openings in state capital Perth, as well as a direct Heathrow-Perth service launched by Qantas in 2018, had fuelled the recent rise in visitors, Harding explained.

Perth had undergone “a once-in-a-hundred-years transformation” with investment in infrastructure and tourism facilities.