A record number of international visitors holidayed in Western Australia in the year ending March 2019, according to the latest International Visitor Survey data.
Released today by Tourism Research Australia, the data reveals 493,100 international visitors travelled to WA for a holiday - an increase of 9.3 per cent compared to the previous year.
This is the highest ever number of international holiday visitors to WA and the strongest year-on-year growth rate of all Australian States and Territories.
Holiday visitor spend also reached a record high for the year ending March 2019, growing 14.8 per cent from the previous year to $801 million.
The average daily spend in WA from international visitors was the highest on record, both at a total level and for holiday purposes. However, the number of international visitors for all purposes of visitation to the State decreased slightly by 1.2 per cent to 949,000, and overall spend decreased by 1.7 per cent to $2.16 billion.
Part of these declines can be explained by a drop in visiting friends and relatives. As a result, Tourism WA is working in key markets to address this and other visitor segments through targeted marketing campaigns.
The State Government recently committed an extra $12 million in the 2019-20 State Budget to Tourism Western Australia to market the State and attract visitors from key South East Asian markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong, as well as long-haul destinations such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States of America.
As stated by Tourism Minister Paul Papalia:
"The latest international visitor statistics are very encouraging, especially for the holiday sector.
"This is the second quarter in a row where WA has broken holiday visitor numbers, both within the State and nationally.
"While these results are positive, there is still work to do in other visitor segments, such as visiting friends and relatives, and working holiday makers.
"This is why we are focusing our efforts on international marketing campaigns, specifically in the target markets of Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the UK, Germany and the US.
"We also have a full calendar of events on offer this year to attract international and domestic visitors, including the Manchester United matches, the Bledisloe Cup and the Western Australian Gourmet Escape.
"These, combined with upcoming major travel trade events and new direct flights between Tokyo and Perth flying daily from September 1, will bring more visitors to the State and provide a significant boost to the WA economy."
