Worries for Exmouth tourism surface as town rebuilds, Premier urges holidaymakers to not cancel plans

As Exmouth begins its recovery after the devastation of ex-tropical cyclone Narelle, fears are escalating over the tourism toll as a flow-on effect to the region.

On the verge of Easter and school holidays, the coastal town was completely ravaged by the destructive winds of the cyclone, causing severe infrastructure and coastal damage.

As of Tuesday, the main roads in and out of Exmouth and the town’s airport remained closed ahead of the Easter long weekend. At present, the only way for people to leave the town is via helicopter to Karratha.

To protect the region’s tourism and major source of business income and profit, Premier Roger Cook urged holiday-makers to follow through with any upcoming travel plans up the North West coast.

“Please, everyone, don’t cancel your holidays. Phone your tourism operator, your hotel, your accommodation provider. See how they’re feeling . . . if you have plans and they can go ahead, please take the opportunity to go and spend your tourism dollars in regional WA,” Mr Cook said in Exmouth on Monday.

“It’s an important time of the year for them. It’s time that we all support each other, and, importantly, support our local tourism operators.”

The State Government announced on Monday afternoon that the shires of Exmouth, Carnarvon and Shark Bay were eligible for joint-funded Commonwealth and State recovery assistance payments. This is on the back of emergency relief payments of up to $4000 from the State Government for those affected.

Mr Cook met with Exmouth residents on Monday to hear about the impacts of the cyclone.

“The damage caused by ex-severe tropical cyclone Narelle is confronting to see,” he said.

Emergency Services Minister Paul Papalia added: “This is a crucial time for the town, and actually for Western Australia’s tourism sector here.

“And it’s pretty devastating in the timing, but what we want to make sure (we can) get in and help and recover as rapidly as possible, so we can open up for tourism.”

Locals were working as fast as they could to get “this magical place” up and running for tourists again, Exmouth shire president Matthew Niikkula said.

“In no way are we putting out the messaging to the rest of the State or the rest of the nation that we’re closed to business and we don’t want everyone back,” he said.

The Exmouth Wild Prawn Festival has been postponed in the wake of cyclone Narelle as recovery efforts begin.

“This has been an incredibly tough time for Exmouth, and our priority is to ensure the community has the time and space it needs to recover,” festival director Louise Cashmore said of the event originally planned for April 9-12.

“We are committed to bringing it back at the right time, not only as a celebration for the community, but as a way to welcome visitors back and support local businesses as the town rebuilds.”

Danie Du Toit, chief executive of Sea Harvest Australia, said the company’s priority was supporting staff and the broader community.

“Many of our team members and their families live in Exmouth and have been directly impacted by this event,” Mr Du Toit said.

“Our business has also been affected, with damage to our boats and local facilities, but our focus right now is supporting the community through recovery.”

Bullara Station Stay, between Exmouth and Coral Bay, suffered significant damage, owner Edwina Shallcross told the Countryman.

Ms Shallcross said on Friday the storm had been “battering” the station for about 10 hours — half of their homestead roof was ripped off forcing them to shelter in the kitchen.

The 100,170ha working cattle station — a popular, award-winning tourism destination that was recently a filming location for Home and Away — was hit at 1am on Saturday.

Staff were evacuated to nearby Cheela Plains Station for safety ahead of an “intense and frightening” 24 hours packed with powerful winds, flooding and widespread damage across the property.

A Facebook post from the cattle station said on Saturday it was dealing with the severe damage wrought by the cyclone and were unable to open as they worked through “significant damage and loss”.

Liam Ridgely, Shark Bay tourism operator, expressed his dismay for the Exmouth community and the upcoming tourism season.

“We’re all struggling with tourism this season because of the fuel prices and cancellations, but now that Exmouth has been hit with the cyclone at full force, it is complete devastation,” he said.

“For us up north, we’re coming into a crucial period that our businesses rely on. With the cyclone absolutely tearing up Exmouth, it’s all just a bit s..t.”