16/01/05
Western Australia’s interstate tourism market passed the one million mark for the first time in 2004.
Interstate visitor numbers increased by 5.8 per cent over the year, resulting in an additional $133million of tourist expenditure for WA. The largest increase was in leisure visitor numbers.
Tourism Minister Bob Kucera said the increase in interstate visitors was a great result for WA.
“The one million interstate visitor milestone is an important one and we plan to build on that number in 2005,” Mr Kucera said.
“Our new tourism marketing campaign, The Real Thing, will target WA’s core interstate markets of Sydney and Melbourne from March, with cinema and subscription television advertising.
“This $2.75million marketing campaign is squarely aimed at building awareness of all the things that make WA special and interstate visitors are an important element of achieving our aim to employ 100,000 people in tourism and related industries over the next five years.
“We expect to see continued strong growth from interstate markets in the coming year as a result of this campaign.”
The Minister said the interstate market was WA’s biggest inbound market, second only to Western Australians holidaying within their own State.
Interstate visitors injected more than $1.1billion into the WA economy between 2003 and 2004.
“Increased air access and competitive fares, combined with our marketing activities in the Eastern States, has contributed to the increase,” Mr Kucera said.
Western Australians choosing to holiday in WA also increased from 2003 to 2004, with the intrastate tourism market accounting for more than 20 million visitor nights in tourist accommodation around the State - an increase of five per cent. Intrastate travellers spent a total of $1.9billion on their visits.
Minister's Office - 9213 7000
