Western Australian tourism recovers 17,000 jobs

May 22, 2023

Revealing post pandemic resurgence in Western Australian tourism, Tourism Research Australia’s latest State Tourism Satellite Accounts has shown that 89,000 jobs were created in the state in 2021/22, a rise of 17,000 positions from COVID-19 lows.

However, Tourism Council WA Chief Executive Evan Hall says the number is far behind the peak of 119,000 jobs in 2016.

Commenting on the new job figures, Hall advised “while WA tourism jobs peaked in 2016 at 119,000, in 2017 the number of jobs generated by the industry fell by 8,000 when WA lost significant market share due to the Machinery of Government changes to Tourism WA.

“The WA tourism industry had started to recover jobs by 2019, but a further 28,000 jobs were lost in 2020-21 due to COVID-19 and border restrictions, taking us to a low point of 72,000 jobs.”

Since the opening of the Western Australian border in early 2022, 17,000 tourism jobs have been recovered to take the total to 89,000 in 2021/22.

Hall added “the State Government’s support to the tourism industry to survive through COVID-19 has paid off, with tourism businesses recovering interstate visitations following the border opening in 2022.

“Investment in major events at Perth Arena and Optus Stadium have been critical to winning back interstate tourists.

“Tourism businesses have been investing in promoting Western Australia, attracting guests and recruiting staff to build back tourism across the state.

“However, international visitors to WA are still at 60% of pre-COVID-19 levels. The key to success now is securing direct international air services from inbound markets such as China and India.”

Image: Outback Splash.

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