TOURISM in the South West is predicted to reach a total visitor spend of $2 billion by 2020.
At the South West Focus Conference last week, finance and economics commentator Michael Pascoe identified tourism as a major economic boost for the South West but only if the right moves were made.
Australia’s South West chairperson Dee Smith said the region was on track, currently sitting at $1.5 billion, but a lot needed to be done in order to make sure that industry was ready to participate.
We need to look at the gaps in services and infrastructure and identify what needs to be done to improve these, she said.
It is about developing a culture of service where we understand the needs of the consumer and are able to meet these because this will go a long way in getting people to come back to the region, Ms Smith said.
“We all agree that everyone is in tourism in a different way and one of the challenges we have is getting industry to really understand the value of tourism,” she said.
“It crosses agriculture, business investment, education and we link in to all of them.
“It is the local Thai shop, Chinese shop, petrol stations and taxi service; it is not just the hotels and accommodation.”
South West Development Commission business development manager Mark Exeter said businesses needed to use social media to get their brand out there because of the potential to promote the region.
Mr Exeter said the attraction sector needed to be developed, by creating new high quality attractions and upgrading existing infrastructure.
Proposed plans for Bunbury Marina including the fisherman’s wharf with cafes and restaurants were a good start, he said.
“These sorts of places do make a difference, they do get visitors to stay longer in an area and stay overnight, spend more, all those sorts of things.”
Maximising the current attractions such as the Dolphin Discovery Centre and realising the potential of these centres was vital to attract visitors he said.
“Many people may not realise that the centre has a huge international volunteer program and people come from all over the world, volunteer there for weeks at a time, then go on to travel and tell people how great the centre is,” Mr Exeter said.
Business tourism was a large market which can now start to be expanded because of the Busselton airport, said Augusta Margaret River Tourism Association chief executive officer Pip Close.
There is also a big opportunity to attract a major player for a five star global hotel, somewhere that could include conference facilities, she said.
The time poor business traveller can now fly direct from the eastern states to the South West and business that has been missed out on previously could now be picked up.
“From a business tourism perspective this is a game changer,” Ms Close said.
