The WA Government is to deliver more than $165 million for new and upgraded boating facilities, campgrounds, trails and tourist attractions in order to encourage more people to enjoy the State’s great outdoors.
Funded through the 2024-25 State Budget, the Outdoor Adventure Tourism package is intended to encourage visitation to regional tourism destinations, supporting local businesses and helping to diversify regional economies.
Campgrounds across the State will receive a significant funding boost, with $17.1 million to deliver a range of upgrades and new camp sites in regional WA and in Perth.
Significant projects include:
Besides camping upgrades, the spending package includes an $82.4 million investment into boating and maritime facilities. Part of this will see $4 million spent on a new fishing platform in Bunbury.
A further $45.8 million will be invested into trails and other recreational facilities, including a significant $17.5 million injection to complete the iconic Wadandi Track in the South West.
Spending on tourist attractions will include $8.1 million to fund phase one of the Kalbarri foreshore and beaches revitalisitation initiative; and $3 million for upgrades at the Gloucester and Bicentennial Trees in the Pemberton area which will allow climbing to reopen on the iconic trees.
WA Premier, Roger Cook, said the state had the best coastline, national parks and natural attractions in the country, and he wanted more people to enjoy what it had to offer.
“This investment will deliver a whole new visitor experience at campgrounds, hiking trails and boat ramps from the Kimberley to the Great Southern and right across the State,” he said. “Encouraging people to get out and about means more visitors to our regions, creating local jobs, supporting local business and helping to diversify our regional economy.”
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Convince them to let dogs into national parks and they will have more visitors than they can handle. I’m not against having to muzzle my dog to gain access to N/Ps. WA has an inordinate amount of national parks and the rules are very restrictive to the traveling public who take their pets on the road. At least 50% of areas that are a major draw card for tourist prevent dogs so a lot of business is bypassing these areas. It time the government got with the program.
The main reason dogs are not allowed is because native animals can pick up their scent and are frightened off. They may not return to nests or their young even when the dog has long gone as the scent remains for a long time.
Most Nat.Parks are full of non native species and feral animals..
Pigs, Cane toads, Rabbits, Foxes, Horses Buffalo and Deer, including wild dogs and cats..
Pet dogs on leads n muzzle pose ZERO threat to any native animals.
My dog lives n wanders on my property in harmony with a multitude of different native animals.
As a matter of fact I believe the wallabies, ducks and many other birds flourish around my area.
I’m sure they know my dog is no threat and they know and sence there are absolutely NO feral cats anywhere in that location because of the dogs presence.
Most Nat Park employees are Uni trained city folk, mostly born overseas, who do workshops to indoctrinate their attitude into a one way street of attitude and thinking with limited narrow vision.
The older rangers who were mostly born and bred in the bush knew their job and had a better hands on attitude and understanding of managing the Australian bush and its animals.
Doesn’t National mean, all over Australia. Doesn’t the Commonwealth own ,”National Parks ” and the states administer them.
Not everyone wants dogs going to the toilet all over the place and their owners not cleaning up after them, plus the barking at wild animals etc
Helen
Don’t put the costs. Will drive people away
We travel with our dog! We are not going to leave it home in the eastern states just because we can’t take them into a National Park. We drive on past! He lived on 50 acres next door to a State Park. We had heaps of Native animals, Roos, Koalas, echidnas, wombats including deer. Horses, cows etc. never had a problem.
How much will be spent to close the horizontal falls only to reopen at a later date ??
So a big portion of this money is being spent on national parks and boat ramps but no mention off low cost camp areas
we already pay money to enter national parks
then pay camping fees
now our government is donating money to keep these going
and with my taxes
but as a pensioner I can’t afford to stay in these places because of the fees already
what about looking at low cost stop over areas for the general public that don’t have a lot of spare money to afford to go into these spots
New traveller to WA. Distinct lack of donation, or free camps near regional towns, which are more common in the eastern states. Many country towns in Victoria & Sth Australia are allowing camping at disused showgrounds or sports venues for a donation or a small fee ($10 or less), which well and truely pays for the maintenance of the sites. Virtually every camper staying near a regional town will spend money in the IGA, cafe, pub or hardware. How about subsidising some of them.
I remember how WA treated the Grey Nomads during and after Covid-19, Especially around the Margaret River area. They blamed the Grey Nomads for all the rubbish and damage that was done during that period and closed off many free camping areas, the only thing wrong with that was we were not allowed into WA then. They will need to do a lot better to entice me back over there again. As was mentioned in an earlier post, the other states offer a lot more.
Mean While, the iconic, unique, only ones of their kind, Sand dunes of Lancelin, an area that is visited by thousands of tourists every year, and is vital to the economy of the area are being mined and carted away in trucks 24/7/365.
Mr Cook or none of his Ministers are interested in this?
There are far too many councils in the WA South West that have no free camping. Do they want tourists to spend in the towns or not? One has to question their thinking if they believe in trying to protect the Parks. More than 50% of tourists prefer free camping and there is room for both. WAKE UP