Statistics collected by Tourism Research Australia show Western Australia has led the nation in welcoming more interstate visitors, with Perth recording the best visitor growth of any capital city.
Minister for Tourism, Roger Cook welcomed the outcome saying the report gave the clearest picture yet of the domestic Australian tourism market after borders re-opened.
“WA was the only State to increase interstate visitor numbers in June 2022 compared with the same month in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic began,” Mr Cook said.
“Interstate visitors to WA jumped 28 per cent — or 35,000 more people than pre-COVID — as 162,000 visitors entered in June.”
He said interstate spending in WA rose sharply by 43 per cent from pre-COVID — up $76 million to $253 million in June this year.
“The total domestic spend in WA for both interstate and intrastate visitors was $802 million, up $84 million or 12 per cent compared to pre-COVID,” Mr Cook said.
He noted there is a positive sign for Perth, with visitor numbers in June back to 87 per cent of pre-COVID, ahead of all other cities.
“These figures show that Western Australia’s aggressive strategy to turbocharge its tourism industry is working,” Mr Cook said.
“There is still a long way to go, but the fact we are already leading the nation in key areas is extremely encouraging.”
He said the State was letting the rest of Australia and the world know that it was one of the most desirable and special tourism destinations on the planet.
