• McGowan Labor Government's 2019-20 State Budget commits funds to expand Tourism Western Australia's promotion of the State overseas
• Promotional efforts will focus on short and long-haul markets
• The $12 million comes on top of the $45 million already allocated to Tourism WA in 2019-20 to be spent on marketing
• Expanded tourism promotions have the potential to create thousands of local jobs 

A $12 million injection to Tourism Western Australia's international marketing push over the next two years is expected to bring thousands of visitors to the State.

The McGowan Labor Government's 2019-20 State Budget, set to be handed down on May 9, will include $9 million to complement existing funding to make up the $12 million new tourism package. The funding injection is expected to attract more international visitors to Western Australia and provide a substantial jobs boost.

The significant funding will help attract holiday-makers from key South East Asian markets, including Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong, as well as long-haul destinations such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States of America.

The marketing efforts will include activities that have the greatest impact on driving visitors to book trips to Western Australia. These include partnering with airlines, overseas travel companies, online travel agencies and inbound tour operators on joint co-operative marketing campaigns; and entering partnerships with key Perth hotels for stopover programs. The additional funding will also be used to extend existing campaign activity.

Tourism is a key economic driver, generating 104,000 jobs and delivering $9.9 billion to the economy through visitor spend.

Since 2017-18, the McGowan Government has committed more than $530 million towards growing tourism in Western Australia.

Comments attributed to Premier Mark McGowan:

"We are starting to see an increase in the overall number of international visitors coming to Western Australia and we're keen for this to continue, so we're boosting our marketing efforts in the countries where we know it will have an immediate impact.

"This additional funding has the potential to attract thousands of more overseas visitors to WA, bring millions of dollars into the State and create thousands of local jobs."

Comments attributed to Tourism Minister Paul Papalia:

"We'll be ramping up our marketing efforts in countries where people can book a trip and travel to WA in a relatively short timeframe, such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

"Long-haul destinations such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States will also form part of the promotional push to address the declines we've seen in the number of working holiday-makers visiting WA from these markets.\

"The funding boost will help support other Tourism WA activity to promote the State overseas."

Premier's office - 6552 5000

Tourism Minister's office - 6552 5600