Tourism figures show good start to 2013

There were fewer international travellers visiting the South West last year compared with the year before, according to data released by Tourism Research Australia last week.

However, intrastate visitor numbers were up.

Tourism WA’s Quarterly Visitor Snapshot shows the South West, which includes the Great Southern, had 111,700 international visitors, down 10.1 per cent for the year ending December 2012, with nights down 9.3 per cent.

Overall occupancy rates are down 0.3 per cent, the only region in WA to have a lower rate than the year before.

Cape Howe Cottages co-owner Gaynor Clarke said international visitors were down because of the high Australian dollar.

She said it was not all doom and gloom however, as the intrastate market continued to grow.

There were 1,749,000 visitors to South West from within WA last year, up 6.7 per cent, while nights stayed up 6 per cent.

Ms Clarke said Albany did not follow the trend for the South West in terms of travellers from other States — the data showed a 21.3 per cent decrease in visitor numbers.

She said this was because much of the data was collected in Margaret River.

“I think we had more interstate visitors, particularly from Queensland and New South Wales,” she said.

“I think there have been quite a few families come to WA to visit fly-in, fly-out workers.”

My Place Colonial Accommodation owner Colette Hopkins said the intrastate market continues to be strong.

Ms Hopkins noticed a drop in European travellers, presumably because of the high Australian dollar, but noticed an increase in Chinese visitors.

“We also have a lot of corporate guests who regularly stay and a lot of seniors, so we don’t follow the school holiday peaks,” she said.

Both accommodation providers said numbers in the start to 2013 had been strong.