Tourism Council WA has warned a 44 per cent cut to Tourism WA's destination marketing budget has come at the worst time for regional tourism.
Tourism Council WA CEO Evan Hall said the two-year $32 million reduction in destination marketing included regional tourism, aviation, and international and interstate marketing that drives visitors to regional WA.
Mr Hall said tourism supported 57,000 jobs across regional Western Australia and generated $11 billion in visitor expenditure for regional tourism towns.
Mr Hall said the cuts came at the worst possible time, with regional WA tourism already in a slump and small businesses still recovering from the combined impacts of Cyclone Narelle and increased fuel costs caused by the Middle East conflict.
"Regional WA needs more marketing and support right now, not less," Mr Hall said.
"Regional tourism is already doing it tough. Cutting funding that brings visitors to regional WA will make a difficult situation significantly worse for the small businesses and communities that depend on it."
Mr Hall said the destination marketing budget for Tourism WA has been cut by $8 million in 2026-27 and a further $24 million in 2027-28.
"Tourism WA's overall budget, including events, marketing and development has been cut by $15 million in 2026-27 and a further $25 million in 2027-28," Mr Hall said.
Mr Hall said visitation to regional WA was still down 26 per cent from pre-COVID 2019 levels.
"Consistent long-term marketing funding is needed to recover these visitors and address the current slump in regional WA," Mr Hall said.
"Destination marketing does the heavy lifting in bringing visitors to WA and out to our amazing regional destinations.
"A 44 per cent cut to that investment, at a time when regional tourism is already under pressure, risks serious and lasting damage to regional businesses, regional jobs and regional communities."
