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Visitors to Western Australia’s protected areas, including national and marine parks, provided the state’s economy with a $2.4 billion windfall in just one year, a new report has found.
But it was locals heading out to explore their own backyard that contributed the most, with out-of-state visitation lagging.
The report on the economic and social contribution of WA’s protected areas, commissioned from Deloitte by the state government, found that in the 2023-24 financial year, those areas attracted over 24 million visitors.
But just 26 per cent of those visits were interstate or international tourists, with the remaining 74 per cent – or 18 million visits – coming from intrastate travel.
A further breakdown shows 19 per cent were interstate and 7 per cent were international travellers.
“Interstate and international visitors bring additional spending into Western Australia, much of which would not have otherwise occurred. This generates additional economic activity from the state’s perspective,” the report reads.
“Intrastate visitation to protected areas in Western Australia plays a vital role in diversifying regional economies by driving tourism beyond traditional urban centres.
“Visitor activity supports small businesses, creates local jobs, and strengthens the resilience of regional economies through diversification.”
Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park, a three-hour drive south of Perth, saw the most visits of all of WA’s protected areas.
And the majority of visits in general occurred at parks in the South West and Perth regions, largely driven by convenience and accessibility.
Australia’s Coral Coast, which includes Kalbarri and Ningaloo, also attracted many visitors, attributable in large part to the iconic coral reefs and landscapes.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, intrastate visits to protected areas have rebounded, with overnight visits now higher than they were in 2019.
Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions staff have attributed this to locals gaining an increased appreciation for their own backyard, having “explored their own state more during the pandemic”.
“However, interstate and international visits have been slower to recover, with interstate overnight trips down 18 per cent in 2024 from their 2019 level and international visits down 13 per cent over the same period,” the report continues.
Premier Roger Cook recently announced he would take over the role of tourism minister, stating he believed it was the premier’s job to “make sure we back brand WA” and that “we are projecting to the rest of the world, tourism and defence industries will be key parts of the economic diversification of our economy”.
“I want to make sure that we are getting all the attention and focus that it requires,” he said.
Environment Minister Matthew Swinbourn said the Deloitte report validated the state government’s decision to “make record investments in conservation”.
And Acting Tourism Minister Tony Buti said West Australians had always known the state’s national parks and World Heritage sites were “world-class attractions that draw visitors from across Australia and the world”.
“Now we have the data to prove it,” he said.
Deloitte Access Economics spokesperson John O’Mahony said their modelling had confirmed WA’s protected areas were both “iconic destinations” and massive contributors to gross state product.
“Looking beyond traditional economics, this is the first time the social asset value of Western Australia’s protected areas has been quantified comprehensively in this way,” he said.
“This analysis shows that both the intrinsic value of the natural assets and the experiences of visitors make protected areas a social asset worth $26.6 billion to the Western Australian community.”
That $26.6 billion has been calculated over a 30-year period, and includes experience value from visitation and existence value held by non-visitors, and role protected areas play in preserving the natural environment, supporting biodiversity, and enabling recreation, leisure and social connection.
