INTERNATIONAL visitor numbers to Western Australia reached record highs in 2007-08, while domestic tourism continued to struggle.
INTERNATIONAL visitor numbers to Western Australia reached record highs in 2007-08, while domestic tourism continued to struggle.
INTERNATIONAL visitor numbers to Western Australia reached record highs in 2007-08, while domestic tourism continued to struggle.
According to Tourism Research Australia, 671,000 international visitors came to WA during the last financial year, up 4.1 per cent on the previous year.
International visitors also spent more and stayed longer than the previous year, with total visitor nights up 6.8 per cent to 18.3 million and expenditure up 14 per cent to $1.6 billion.
The top international market remained the UK, despite recording a 3.5 per cent drop in visitors numbers, with Singapore in second spot.
New Zealand, WA's third biggest international market, recorded the biggest jump, with visitor numbers increasing 28.2 per cent on the previous year.
The biggest drop in visitors from the state's top markets was Japan, which recorded a 17.7 per cent drop in visitor numbers. Visitor numbers from Malaysia, the state's fifth biggest international market, are expected to receive a boost next year, with Malaysian budget carrier AirAsia to start direct flights between Perth and Kuala Lumpur from November.
Domestic tourism continued its downward trend, with interstate visitors down 8 per cent and intrastate visitors down 7.7 per cent.
The decline in domestic tourism is part of a larger national trend, with WA residents increasing international travel by more than 85 per cent in the past five years, according to Tourism WA.
Perth hotels continued to perform strongly, with room occupancy rates reaching a high of 86 per cent during the peak month of November 2007.
The average occupancy rate for the June 2008 quarter was 70.5 per cent, up almost 2 per cent on the previous corresponding period and up 7.5 per cent on the June 2006 quarter.
Takings from hotel accommodation in WA also reached a new high of $208,000 for the June 2008 quarter, up 21 per cent on the previous June quarter.