It has been 25 months since Australia banned the entry of international cruise vessels under the Biosecurity Act.

Upon the resumption, additional measures will be in place to reduce the COVID-19 risk on board ships, including enhanced pre-arrival reporting; ensuring vessels always arrive with permission to unload passengers; stress testing of emergency response systems; and engaging with the cruise industry on a safe resumption.

​Ships will also need to meet all state and territory public health requirements, with these jurisdictions to soon advise on their readiness to begin cruising.

On the 1st of December the state government announced several new marketing campaigns to attract overseas visitors and workers to the state:

• A campaign tailored to specifically address the skills shortage by attracting workers, such as backpackers for hospitality.
• A student attraction scheme will be in place to help international students choose WA as their place to study, including up to $1,500 in accommodation support for the first 5,000 students.
• A $65 million aviation fund, which will go towards re-establishing international and interstate flight routes that were disrupted by the pandemic, as well as targeting new routes including Germany, India, China and Vietnam.
• Incentives will also be offered to tourists, international students and workers in order to successfully compete with other global jurisdictions. This will include expanding the Stay and Play campaign, which offers discounts for those who stay in participating hotels, as well as vouchers for tours and experiences.
• An immediate additional $9 million funding boost to attract blockbuster international events to Perth and WA.
• $15 million to target business events to attract international conferences to Perth, an essential initiative to support CBD hotel occupancy as well as the hospitality industry.

​Read the full media statement 

Particular mention to the following award winners who have worked with FutureNow on our Career Pathways project, which is a suite of occupational guides and a website (https://www.thecareers.guide/) that has been produced to present career pathways information to prospective learners interested in employment in the hospitality, tourism and events field.
 
Live Ningaloo
Gold - Ecotourism
Bronze - Adventure Tourism
Live Ningaloo’s mission is to reclaim time in a meaningful way and give people the space to feel something. Tours are small, with ten people maximum and in-water interactions to a single group, no switching between multiple groups of people on tours.

The  Government is to host a series of tourism industry consultations across Western Australia. It will be an opportunity for stakeholders to share ideas on the industry's future. Tourism is a major focus of the State Government's WA Recovery Plan The series of 14 events commence on Monday 1st November and will be held at metropolitan and regional locations stretching from Kununurra to Esperance.
The tourism industry in Western Australia accounts for more than 109,000 jobs and before COVID-19, contributed $11 billion in visitor spend to the State's economy.

Read the full statement

WAITOC, in partnership with Breakaway Tourism has developed the Aboriginal Tourism Academy (ATA).
The ATA is a customised program for tourism business development and professional development for staff. It aims to meet the needs of new and existing Aboriginal tourism operators across Western Australia, including training/skilling, strategic marketing assistance, product/service development, and mentoring.
This follows from the success of previous programs where WAITOC partnered with The City of Perth.
WAITOC encourages all interested individuals, businesses and organisations to work together to help grow Western Australia's unique Aboriginal cultural tourism industry. Through committed partnerships, all stakeholders will benefit and communities in our state will begin to prosper.
Learn more about partnering with WAITOC by downloading the Local Government Prospectus: WAITOC Partnership Packages 2020

There is significant government investment in trails tourism currently underway across the State.
 
The Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC) is working closely with Parks and Wildlife and Trails WA to deliver a Trail Town accreditation program in targeted communities interested in trails tourism.
The towns of Collie and Dwellingup are well on their way to becoming recognised Trail Towns and are already “must do” locations, particularly for mountain bike and hiking enthusiasts.

In addition, the Great Southern Centre for Outdoor Recreation Excellence Regional Trails Master Plan was released on 18 September.
The Master Plan focuses on a range of trail experiences suited to different user groups, including user needs for trail-related products and services, across the Great Southern.
It focuses on active leisure trails which involve an outdoor recreation element. This includes terrestrial trails (walking/hiking, trail running, cycling, mountain biking, and adventure bike riding) as well as aquatic trails (paddling a canoe, kayak, or stand-up paddleboard, and snorkeling/diving). It includes a drive trail which link together a series of ‘active nodes’, as well as heritage and cultural trails.
For a comprehensive list of the State’s trails network, visit Trails WA
 
The department will be hosting a Trails Forum in Dwellingup on Friday 20 November 2020.
This will provide an opportunity for the trails sector to network and learn more about trail developments across the State including outcomes from the WA Hiking Strategy, Trail Towns progress and best practices in trail planning.

As part of the WA Recovery Plan, the McGowan Government has announced a world-class hospitality and tourism training centre will be built at South Metropolitan TAFE's Mandurah campus.
The $9.17 million centre will replace an ageing home economics-style room to enable training of apprentice chefs in the Peel region. The centre will also focus on engaging local secondary students, young people and the long-term unemployed in vocational education and training.
The centre is set to improve the Peel region's capacity to train job-ready, highly skilled chefs, as well as front of house staff, event coordinators and tourism workers.
Read the full ministerial media statement.

Western Australian tourism company, Prendiville Group has purchased the former Fremantle Technical College.
​Plans include redeveloping part of the 2,400 square metre site to house a contemporary centre of excellence for hospitality management, which the Prendiville Group is seeking to partner with various institutions, to support hotels across the State, and create high-quality tourist experiences.
Short-term activation of the site will include opening a new alfresco food and beverage offering, with future potential for a hotel or student accommodation facility to front Norfolk Lane.
The sale will ensure that the State heritage-listed buildings, which are currently underutilised, will be restored and activated, making a positive contribution to the broader revitalisation of the Fremantle city centre.
Read the full ministerial media statement

The state government has made several announcements recently related to projects in the South West, including a $4.4 million investment into tourism initiatives in Collie. Funding will go towards town upgrades, wayfinding, and tourist amenity, as well as business development and new visitor infrastructure at Wellington Dam, which is set become the centrepiece of the $1.5 million Collie Mural Trail.

The Collie Mural Trail will feature a number of smaller murals throughout the Collie township, with work currently underway to finalise the location of murals and appointment of local artists. The lead artist for the Wellington Dam mural has been announced as Australian artist Guido Van Helton.

Other visitor attractions in the region, Lake Kepwari’s recreation hub and the Arklow mountain bike trails, are also due to open this year. Media statements:

• $4.4 million to Collie tourism injection as world-renowned artist selected to paint Wellington Dam
• Adventure awaits with new Collie mountain bike trails

Tourism WA will extend the deadline for applications for the Tourism Business Survival Grant to 4pm Monday July 13, 2020.
Applicants who have already submitted an application can re-open, review, amend and re-submit their application if they would like to.
Full details on the Tourism Business Survival Grant, including the Grant Guidelines and Frequently Asked Questions, can be found on Tourism WA’s corporate website.