Tour vouchers bring in visitors

The State Government’s Wander out Yonder vouchers are starting to filter through Bunbury’s tourism operators and as Perth residents begin to head south for summer, it appears tourists’ habits are beginning to change. The vouchers, which were snapped up by 10,000 people in September, give the holder a $100 discount on WA tours and experiences, granted if they spend a total of $200. Bunbury Dolphin Discovery Centre has seen more than 20 vouchers come through already, while more than 1000 of the vouchers have been redeemed with operators around the region. “We had 21 orders, so 21 customers have come through that process and obviously we don’t normally get any customers through that direction, so it was a major step for us,” DDC chief executive David Kerr said. “We are down on last year, which is to be expected, but generally I am quite pleased with where we are at and I think there is potentially a pretty big upside between now and the vacation period as well.” Tourism Minister Paul Papalia said generally people were coming to the South West in good numbers. “Over 1000 vouchers have been redeemed from 95 operators in the Australia’s South West tourism region so far, with more than $250,000 revenue generated,” he said. “The voucher program is still ongoing, with voucher holders having until the end of the year to redeem their discounts with tour and experience operators — so there are still many thousands of dollars of benefits to be delivered to the region’s tourism industry.” Mr Papalia also flagged recent changes in the tourism behaviours of some visitors due to the inability to travel interstate and overseas. “Over this period we are told the length of stay for many accommodation providers increased from the previous average of two nights up to five or more, reflecting Western Australians taking longer holidays in the South West, rather than interstate or overseas,” he said.