Support for Margaret River Pro extended until 2028
The future of the Western Australian Margaret River Pro has been secured until 2028 under a new multi-year sponsorship agreement with the World Surf League (WSL). As a WSL Championship Tour event, the Pro attracts surfing's global elite, with the world's best men and women surfers competing for championship points. The 2024 event marks the tenth year of Western Australia hosting a round of the prestigious World Championship Tour. Read more here.

Image credit of 2023 winners: Aaron Hughes
 

2024 accommodation award winners revealed
Western Australia’s top performing individuals and businesses within the hotel industry were recognised at the 2024 AHA Perth Airport Accommodation Awards for Excellence on Monday evening, a Tourism WA supported event. Presented by the Australian Hotels Association (WA), award winners included The Ritz-Carlton, Perth, which won WA’s Best Metro Accommodation Hotel Award, and Cable Beach Club Resort & Spa in Broome, which won the Tourism WA-sponsored category, WA’s Best Regional Accommodation Hotel Award, for the third consecutive year. See the full list of award winners here.

Image credit: Matt Jelonek

Tourism WA wraps up regional roadshow series
Today marks the end of the Tourism WA Regional roadshow series, with the team wrapping up the series in Destination Perth.  Earlier this week, the team journeyed to Exmouth to host the Australia’s Coral Coast Roadshow which was well attended by local industry. Tourism WA has now visited all of our state’s tourism regions in 2024, to share more about the WA Visitor Economy Strategy 2033 (WAVES) and other key visitor initiatives, as well as insights from the latest visitor research and updates on major projects. Find out more about WAVES 2033 here.

Fremantle features on Traveller website
A story on nine must-do experiences in Fremantle was featured on The Age Traveller’s website in early April. Written by a freelance travel writer hosted by Tourism WA, a variety of Fremantle’s hospitality, accommodation and tour options were featured including Warders Hotel, Gage Roads Brew Co, WA Shipwrecks Museum, The National Hotel, FOMO Freo, Sailing for Oranges, Vin Populi, Nieuw Ruin, Oh Hey WA and Rottnest Island ferries. The article was on display for almost one million online readers of Traveller. Read the article here.

Free sustainability webinars for tourism operators
Drawing from the new national Sustainable Tourism Toolkit, the Australian Government is hosting a free, four-part series of one-hour webinars for tourism businesses across April and May. Designed to meet the needs of small-to-medium tourism enterprises, the webinars will provide easy-to-understand advice on implementing sustainability practices, benefiting businesses which are new to sustainability or already well on the journey. Embracing sustainability can help businesses reach new customers, build staff satisfaction, improve profitability and increase resilience. Read more here.

Virgin Australia Dream of WA campaign
Virgin has launched a three-week awareness and tactical campaign to drive interstate flight bookings into Western Australia, in partnership with Tourism WA. The campaign commenced with a two-week social media blitz showcasing the bucket-list adventures and aspirational experiences in Perth and the Kimberley, followed by a tactical flight sale running from 15-21 April, offering up to 30 per cent off selected flights to Western Australia. The campaign is being promoted through YouTube, display advertising across Nine and Skyscanner, billboards and paid social, as well as Virgin Australia’s owned channels. Find out more here.

A pitch perfect Perth escape promotion
In partnership with Tourism WA, Luxury Escapes has launched a one-month tactical campaign to drive interstate visitors for the match between AC Milan and AS Roma in Perth on Friday, 31 May. The campaign is running until Saturday, 11 May and the package includes a Category A ticket and a $100 Luxury Escapes voucher to drive accommodation and experience bookings around the event date. The campaign is being promoted through YouTube, paid social, radio and a Melbourne Victory Soccer Club e-newsletter placement, as well as Luxury Escapes owned channels including website and e-newsletter. Find out more here.

Highlighting careers in tourism and hospitality in Broome
The Tourism WA Workforce Development team is promoting tourism and hospitality careers to local high school students and job seekers at the West Kimberley Careers Expo, taking place today and tomorrow in Broome. Local tourism and hospitality operators are encouraged to take advantage of the opportunity and visit the Tourism and Hospitality booth to advise of workplace opportunities, or register job vacancies for free on westernaustralia.jobs, Tourism WA’s dedicated industry jobs, careers and information portal. This initiative is delivered through the Tourism Workforce Development Program. To find out more, email workforce@westernaustralia.com.

Collie to embark on Wellington National Park tourism improvements
The town of Collie is set to benefit from a $2.74 million commitment from the Collie Industry Attraction and Development Fund to deliver improved access to Wellington National Park. The investment includes funding for the Wellington Dam mural and for the recently developed trails network. The project will also include widening a 4.3-kilometre section of River Road and 800-metre section of Falcon Road to enable two-way traffic, and installing automated pedestrian access gates on the walkway over Wellington Dam. Read more here.

Registrations open for State Budget Tourism Review
Registrations are open for Tourism Council WA’s State Budget Tourism Review breakfast event on Wednesday, 15 May. Businesses are invited to attend to learn what the 2024-25 State Budget (to be released on Thursday, 9 May) will mean for the tourism industry and individual businesses and destinations. Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism, Hon Rita Saffioti MLA, will provide a keynote presentation covering the Budget inclusions for tourism, with an opportunity for attendees to ask questions. Register here.

Save with early bird WA Tourism Conference tickets
Registrations are now open for the 2024 Perth Airport WA Tourism Conference, which will take place in Mandurah, from 10-12 June. Attendees will have the opportunity to network with industry colleagues, undertake professional and business development and hear from industry-leading speakers on crucial issues. Early bird pricing is now available, with savings of $100 per conference ticket. Register here.

Top reasons to enter the WA Tourism Awards
Entries are open for Tourism Council WA’s 2024 Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards. By entering the 2024 Perth Airport WA Tourism Awards, tourism businesses undertake an annual business audit, elevate their reputation and profile, measure themselves against their peers and build business morale. Gold medal winners will go on to represent WA at a national level in the 2024 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards. Learn more here.