Nearly an Anzac full house

Accommodation in Albany for the Anzac centenary commemorations is close to being fully booked, according to the findings of an accommodation audit released last week.

Tourism WA released the results of its audit, carried out between January 16 and February 19 this year, which surveyed 129 accommodation providers in the City of Albany and the shires of Denmark and Mt Barker.

It found 73.4 per cent of accommodation in Albany was either already held or booked for the Anzac centenary weekend from October 31 to November 2, with 51.4 per cent of bookings held with a deposit.

Available short-stay cabins in Albany were the hardest to find, with 81.4 per cent booked.

However, the available accommodation in the region is much higher when Denmark and Mt Barker were taken into account, with just over 50 per cent of surveyed accommodation booked, prompting calls for potential visitors to look outside Albany for places to stay.

Shire of Plantagenet president Ken Clements said Mt Barker would welcome Anzac visitors with open arms and they should consider staying in their town if there was no accommodation in Albany.

“We have had a number of bookings already and are receiving a lot of enquiries,” he said.

“We think that people should stay here in Mt Barker before Albany anyway.”

Mr Clements said the Shire had already spoken with caravan parks about a possible overflow plan on Frost Park should there be a shortage of accommodation.

Denmark Shire president Dale Stewart said visitors should not get the impression the whole of the Great Southern was nearing capacity.

“We can cater for 10,000 tourists with beds and caravan sites available,” he said.

“The Denmark Visitor Centre estimates we are at around 30 per cent so there is a lot of capacity left.

“The region has capacity, there are still a lot of options available.”

Last month, accommodation providers in Albany canvassed by the Albany Advertiser confirmed they were booked out, with one saying they had been turning away people for months and it was “embarrassing”.

City of Albany’s tourism development services manager Matthew Bird said the City was working with surrounding visitor centres and accommodation providers to ensure the Anzac visitor demand was met.

“The Albany Visitor Centre reports that there are no rooms available from Albany operators listed on their booking system,” he said.

“This is a great outcome for the region as visitors still intending to attend the commemoration can readily access accommodation with Albany’s neighbours.”