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Recently released figures from the Australian Government show tourism now creates 97,200 jobs in Western Australia, an increase of 3,500 jobs on the previous year.

The State Tourism Satellite Accounts also showed that Western Australian tourism has grown by $1 billion, to $13 billion in visitor spending each year, with this spending creating $10 billion in Gross State Product, including $1 billion in taxation revenue.

Welcoming the figures, Tourism Council WA Chief Executive Evan Hall said the report showed that tourism now accounted for 7.1% of state employment, overtaking mining (6.9%) as a major employer in Western Australia.

Hall explained “visitor spending in WA has surged to $13.4 billion per year, creating 3,500 new jobs across the state.

“Tourism has become the powerhouse of jobs growth in WA, creating 97,200 jobs.”

Hall said the lower Australian dollar and better value hotel rooms had made Western Australia a more affordable destination, commenting “this jobs growth is mainly due to the staycation effect where Western Australians are holidaying at home once more.”

Tourism Council WA predicts that tourism will continue to create thousands of additional jobs over the next two years provided Western Australia performs better in overseas and international markets.

Hall added “we continue to lose international and interstate market share to other states (so) we cannot rely on Western Australians travelling at home to grow our industry and jobs – it’s important that government invests in tourism promotion and infrastructure.

“If we don’t invest in promoting WA as a visitor destination then the tourism industry will not be able to create the jobs WA needs.”

Tourism Research Australia’s State Tourism Satellite Accounts are produced by the Australian Government to measure tourism’s contribution to the national and state economic accounts.

For more information go to www.tra.gov.au

Images: Perth from Kings Park (top) and Ningaloo Reef (below).

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