Last month in the opinion piece Lee Tate explored options for tourism in Western Australia.
Here’s some of the feedback we received from the article…
Click here to read the original article.
1Dear Editor,
Do we want large numbers of tourists in WA? The answer is ‘no’. We haven’t got the attractions for big numbers of tourists. We have Kings Park and other national parks, but the national parks don’t really want too many tourists.
I spend a few years landscaping my garden and received letters in our mailbox asking me did I want to sell our property. Real estate are more interested in making money than me being happy with my newly designed gardens.
So, if you haven’t got any tourists blame Real estate who want to make money and are not interested in attracting tourists at all.
Your sincerely
Doreen Grigson (via mail)
2Dear Editor,
Moderate numbers are good. Too many and we come to depend on it in our economy. Think of Bali and the disasters.
We never want to depend on them and you can’t. It’s a problem with a lot of country towns and they have to have events to attract tourists. Usually a lot of hard work goes on behind the scenes by volunteers.
Janice Kelly (via email)
Comments via Facebook
John Bristow – If you build it they will come.
Madge Huntley – We could do with the income that would come with it.
Christine Sutherland – It’s imperative that Elizabeth Quay and Yagan Square are completed asap. Both are still far from their best for tourists to experience and talk about.
More events need to be held at EQ and they need to be more widely and effectively marketed.
Planning of foot traffic to and from the Esplanade Station to EQ was absolutely rotten, dangerous as well. Someone is going to get killed crossing the street.
Walking around the shoreline from EQ it’s disappointing to see shoddy, half finished landscaping that has been left so long that massive weeds have sprung up, and the old defunct pathway, still accessible, has dangerous cracks and holes from erosion. Are they waiting for it to rot away and fall into the river?
We definitely need more people actually living in the CBD to bring it to life. Without a massive resource boom it feels empty. I don’t know how the restaurants and cafes are surviving.
Perth doesn’t yet have a vibe as Melbourne does. I’m not saying Perth should be like Melbourne, but we don’t have an image or vibe at all.
Michelle Legge – We have so much nature to offer this is what we should be concentrating on promoting. I have hosted hundred of counch surfers from all over the world and not once has anyone said I wish there were theme parks it is about the natural beauty and the vastness that attracts people
Carmen Jenner – I’m not sure how I feel about theme parks built purely for tourists? How about investing in those regions other than Margaret River, Broome or Ningaloo, reducing the cost of flights & transport so that popping over to Kununurra, Kalgoorlie & Albany is feasible. Those regions are exotic to foreigners
Michelle van de Kroft – New flights are starting from Singapore directly into Broome next month to encourage tourism to the Kimberley which is great.
Diane Miles – I would not want theme parks which I feel cheapen the state not to mention environmentally unfriendly. I feel we need more resorts along the coast that offer water sports fishing snorkelling eco education and bush food. Also Aboriginal education parks. I think it would be silly to destroy our lovely flora and fauna for the masses.
Susan Lynch Absolutely ! I go to Sydney and Melbourne a lot and they have the monopoly on tourism,ma licence to print money over there. We have so much to offer here but we need to put more attractions in not take them away ! What happened to the lovely Glass Botanical Garden we had before they built Elizabeth Quay, loved going in there All Gone never to be put back, but 1 million dollars was spent relocating the restaurant onto Elizabeth Quay !!!
Cheryl Benedetti Apparently prices in the food chain in popular Perth retaurants are way more expensive especially compared to Melbourne why ??