The state’s $2.4 billion tourism windfall propped up by West Aussies
Visitors to Western Australia’s protected areas, including national and marine parks, have delivered a $2.4 billion windfall to the state’s economy in just one year, a new report has found.
But with out-of-state visits delayed, the biggest contributors were locals out exploring their own backyards.
The report into the economic and social contribution of WA’s protected areas, commissioned by the state government from Deloitte, found they attracted more than 24 million visitors in the 2023-24 financial year.
But only 26 percent of those visits were from interstate or international tourists; the remaining 74 percent (18 million visits) came from in-state travel.
A more detailed analysis shows that 19 percent travel interstate and 7 percent travel internationally.
“Interstate and international visitors bring additional expenditure to Western Australia, much of which would not otherwise occur. This creates additional economic activity for the state,” the report says.
“Intrastate visitation to protected areas in Western Australia plays a vital role in diversifying regional economies by expanding tourism beyond traditional urban centres.
“Visitor activities support small businesses, create local jobs and strengthen the resilience of regional economies through diversification.”
Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, a three-hour drive south of Perth, was the most visited of all Western Australia’s protected areas.
Overall, the majority of visits were to parks in the South West and Perth regions, largely due to convenience and accessibility.
Australia’s Coral Coast, which includes Kalbarri and Ningaloo, has also attracted many visitors, largely attributed to its iconic coral reefs and landscapes.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, in-state visits to protected areas have rebounded, and overnight visits are now higher than in 2019.
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions staff attributed this to local people placing greater value on their own backyards by “exploring their own states more during the pandemic.”
“But interstate and international visits have been slower to recover, with interstate overnight trips down 18 percent in 2024 from 2019 levels, and international visits down 13 percent over the same period,” the report continues.
Prime Minister Roger Cook recently announced he would take over the role of tourism minister, saying he believed the prime minister’s job was to “make sure we support the WA brand” and that “we envisage tourism to the rest of the world and defense industries will be important parts of the economic diversification of our economy.”
“I want to make sure we get all the attention and focus that this requires,” he said.
Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn said the Deloitte report vindicated the state government’s decision to “make record investment in conservation”.
Acting Tourism Minister Tony Buti said Western Australians had always known the state’s national parks and World Heritage sites were “world-class attractions attracting visitors from Australia and around the world”.
“We now have the data to prove it,” he said.
Deloitte Access Economics spokesman John O’Mahony said their modeling confirmed WA’s protected areas were both “iconic destinations” and a major contributor to gross state product.
“Looking beyond traditional economics, this is the first time the social asset value of Western Australia’s protected areas has been measured comprehensively in this way,” he said.
“This analysis shows that both the intrinsic value of natural assets and visitor experiences make protected areas a $26.6 billion social asset for the Western Australian community.”
This $26.6 billion is calculated over a 30-year period and includes the experiential value gained from the visit and the existential value enjoyed by non-visitors, and the role protected areas play in protecting the natural environment, supporting biodiversity and providing recreation, entertainment and social connection.
Holly Thompson is a journalist at WAtoday specializing in education and the environment.Connect with: X or email.
