Aussie tourists bring $4.5bn to WA

More than $4.5 billion was pumped into the local economy by domestic tourists in the year to March, Tourism Council WA says.

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Figures from a recent survey found domestic tourist numbers rose by 14.3 per cent, from 6.9 million to 7.8 million, in the year ending March, injecting $4.57 billion into Western Australia’s economy.

Tourism Council WA chief executive Evan Hall said the increase showed more people were viewing the state as a good holiday destination.

“As the Australian dollar remains comparatively low, more people are choosing to holiday at home over international destinations like Bali,” he said.

“WA is proving itself to be a good value holiday destination and is beginning to shrug off the expensive reputation it earned some years ago.”

Mr Hall said the figures were good news for jobs in WA, with tourism already employing about 94,000.