New figures show tourism sector making sluggish recovery in complex market

Tourism numbers in the Margaret River region continue to fall, with concerns about the slow uptake among some key international markets.

While the latest Tourism Research Australia figures showed domestic visitation to the region had fallen back to just above its pre-COVID-19 levels, interstate and overseas trips remained lower.

There was a bright spot in the new figures — that spending had considerably increased on pre-2020 figures.

Margaret River-Busselton Tourism Association chief executive Sharna Kearney said the backward trend was expected to follow the re-opening of international borders as Australians could travel overseas, but international visitor numbers looked especially slow to recover.

“Interstate visitor numbers are still too small to report at the Margaret River region level and are therefore reported as part of overall domestic visitation,” she said.

“Overall interstate visitation to WA is at 95 per cent of the 2019 benchmark. International visitors (to the region) equate to 66 per cent of the 2019 benchmark.”

Ms Kearney said the fastest-returning markets to WA were China, India and New Zealand, while Singapore was at 7 per cent below pre-pandemic levels.

However, it coincided with “significant lags” in the Malaysian, US and UK markets.

“Anecdotal feedback from MRBTA members indicates that they have experienced a quieter winter period compared with recent years, but that there is more of an optimistic outlook for the coming spring and summer seasons, with events playing a role in stimulating shoulder season visitation,” Ms Kearney said.

That feedback was shared with the Times by several operators who asked not to be named, saying their businesses were being hit hard by the cost-of-living crunch.

Events supported by the State Government and Shire of Augusta-Margaret River, including Pair’d Margaret River in November and a major music event at Gloucester Park in December, are expected to draw crowds.

Margaret River Discovery Co. founder Sean Blocksidge told the Times the industry remained “in a state of flux” post-COVID-19.

“Winter was a bit slower this year but nothing like those pin-drop quiet years we used to get,” he said.

“Overall, business is ticking along well with solid forward bookings for spring and summer.

“The key to our regional success is attracting the right type of visitor and MRBTA do a great job of targeting experiential travellers over the horrible mass tourism.”

The MRBTA said domestic spending was 40 per cent higher than pre-pandemic statistics, but that was not translating to increased profitability due to across-the-board expenses rising.