Tourism Council WA has called for increased infrastructure investment into Western Australia’s Coral Coast following the announcement of Ningaloo Reef’s UNESCO world heritage status.
The federal and state government’s support is required to open up the area for increased numbers of tourists that the new listing will bring into the state, according to the council. “We need more bus services through the Coral Coast for the international backpacker market attracted to the reef” said the council’s chief executive Evan Hall. “We also need to enhance our aviation services to the airports in the Coral Coast.”
Hall is hopeful that increased international awareness of the area will draw those normally attracted by Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef. “Nature based tourists spend $25 billion in Australia each year, but we need to attract more of those visitors to Western Australian regions like the Coral Coast,” he said.
However, he warned that while the environmental protection provided by the new listing could create obstacles for sustainable tourism in the area such as resistance from environmental groups and excessive bureaucracy.
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