The Perth Convention Bureau has warned the announcement of a six-star boutique hotel at the Old Treasury Building will fall short of satisfying demand for new hotel rooms required each year.
A 2010 report prepared by Access Economics predicts that Perth will require an additional 300 new hotel rooms each year to keep up with demand, and without this infrastructure the State will potentially lose around $435 million in gross state product over the next ten years.
Perth Convention Bureau managing director Christine McLean welcomed the state's announcement to redevelop the building into a six-star Aman Resort, but said hotels would struggle to keep up with demand stemming from strong economic fundamentals in the state.
"If the Chamber of Commerce and Industry's predictions for economic growth in Western Australia are correct, Perth's hotels will be unable to keep up with forecasted demand," Ms Mclean said
"Perth's hotels are already enjoying occupancy rates of up to 100 per cent between Monday and Friday, driven largely by the corporate market.
"Opportunities abound, particularly in the conference and meeting sector, however the availability of hotel rooms is recognised as a major constraint to attracting business events to Perth and Western Australia."
Ms McLean said the bureau was actively promoting Perth, and with the number of events slated on the calendar over the next four years, hotel room supply was crucial.
Statistics demonstrate that international business delegates spend six times more than a leisure tourist, she said.
"In 2009-2010, the bureau secured events that will require more than 247,000 hotel room nights that are expected to inject more than $90 million into the Western Australian economy over the next four years," Ms McLean said.
"Perth is currently bidding on behalf of Australia (and with the support of the Premier and the State Government) for a major international conference in 2016 that will attract more than 5,000 delegates.
"Our current capacity is around 3,000 delegates - which poses the ultimate challenge."
