Ian Goodenough (Moore, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment for recently visiting Hillarys Boat Harbour, where he attended a forum of leading tourism representatives, including from Sightseeing Pass Australia, AQWA, Willie Creek Pearls, Quality Resort Sorrento Beach and the City of Joondalup. Tourism is a key economic driver, generating 109,000 jobs and injecting $11.9 billion into the Western Australian economy by gross state product.

We discussed ways to promote the greater city of Joondalup as a tourist attraction with its two marinas, golf course, shopping centres and beaches. High on the agenda were the cost of airline flights, the availability of accommodation, ease of obtaining inward tourist visas, and destination marketing campaigns. There was discussion around the new direct flights between Perth and London, ways to attract eastern states visitors to utilise Perth as a stopover hub on their way to Europe and Asia, ways to capitalise on the growth of the cruise ship sector and how to promote Hillarys as the gateway to Rottnest Island. The federal government has invested heavily in upgrading the Reid and Tonkin highways to provide an efficient, direct route between Perth Airport and the Moore electorate for inward-bound tourists.