Plans for Capes to reap winter windfall

The distinction between tourism seasons in the Capes is blurring, according to the Margaret-River Busselton Tourism Association, as government and tourism bodies address the need to draw more visitors during winter.

MRBTA chief executive Pip Close told theTimes the region was “historically” met with a decline in business during winter, however, she believed this was changing.

“Last year there was a significant improvement on visitation over this period compared to the previous year’s figures,” she said.

Ms Close said the MRBTA was focused on selling winter experiences, such as whale-watching, mountain biking and caving and events like the South West Mud Fest, to draw more visitors during the off-season.

During State Cabinet’s regional visit to Busselton last month, Premier and Tourism Minister Colin Barnett spoke of the region’s “absolutely world-class” tourism attractions, but acknowledged the disparity in visitation between seasons.

“I suspect part of the challenge is … spreading the season, so we’ve got a 12-month flow of people,” he told attendees at a breakfast event on May 30.

The Premier pointed to events like CinefestOz as a way to increase visitor numbers during winter.

Busselton Mayor Grant Henley also highlighted events as a way to “fill in” the shoulder and off-seasons.

He said the City bolstered tourism during winter through the prioritisation of event funding.

“If an event is held over a long weekend in summer, we’re less likely to fund it,” he said.

“We prioritise event funding by when it is held.

“Seasonal jobs are important … but we’re trying to spread it throughout the year a bit.”

Ms Close said while the gap” was closing, there were still obstacles to overcome and urged tourism operators to get involved.

“There are still certainly challenges with winter and there are various initiatives and opportunities that we are working on those operators can get involved in to help stimulate business during these quieter months,” she said.

“We would love to see more operators get involved in the consumer promotions we are running as this will allow us to be more effective and have a wider reach.”

The MRBTA is working with Australia’s South West on an airline promotion to tap into the Malaysian and Singaporean markets and has introduced a downloadable Winter Play Pass, offering discounts to some of the region’s attractions during winter.