Supplied: Chris Bray
)High-end accommodation providers in WA's north say they are selling out, giving the industry some confidence that West Australians are spending up big on local holidays, with overseas adventures off the cards.
Last year record numbers of West Australians travelled through the state and accommodation was overrun in tourist towns.
Christmas Island off WA's coast has traditionally relied on international tourists, but local eco-escape owner Chris Bray said his high-end accommodation was booking out this year thanks to West Australian tourists.
"We've actually been busier than we've ever been in the second half of the pandemic and continuing now into next year," Mr Bray said.
Visitor numbers have increased on the island since the pandemic began. In January 2021 the island had 260 visitors, up from 198 travellers in 2020.
"You can afford to go to more distant or more exclusive or more expensive accommodation, so that's possibly what we're seeing."
Chief executive of Australia's Coral Coast David O'Malley said high-end accommodation across the region was also in demand, but last year many tourists were not willing to pay for high-end experiences such as whale shark tours.
Supplied: Chris Bray
)Ningaloo tours selling out, but visitors down in other parts of WA
The message appears to be gaining momentum this season.
Ningaloo Discovery director Sarah Ellis said the whale shark season had officially started and tours on their sailing catamaran were already booking out.
The tour business has been so busy the company has created a new service offering sunset sails.
But this has not been the case for all tour operators.
Supplied: Ningaloo Discovery
)Michael Volgger, who helps to run Curtin University's tourism research cluster, said the tour industry had been suffering during the pandemic.
The Associate Professor with the School of Management and Marketing said it was hard to encourage locals to book a tour.
"It's challenging to get them to spend on attraction points, so we have a multitude of situations around the state where the revenue is very much down and visitation is very much down, and this includes some of the most visited ones such as the Busselton Jetty in the south-west," Professor Volgger said.
ABC News: Sebastian Neuweiler
)Tourism industry 'needs to get creative'
Mr Volgger said it was hard to change the behaviour of homegrown tourists.
"For a West Aussie travelling within Western Australia, even if it is a new destination they're exploring, they always feel like, 'Oh, I could come back later,'" he said.
He said the tourism industry needed to get creative to encourage Australians to spend on activities and experiences.
"This includes questions around … what do they offer, how long do they last; it includes questions around pricing and business model, which is possibly the most important aspect," Professor Volgger said.
He said it would be difficult for businesses to adapt in such a short amount of time.
Ms Ellis said since the COVID-19 pandemic, Ningaloo Discovery had changed its marketing for tours and was doing less through big agents.
Supplied: Chris Bray
)Will the trend continue?
Mr Bray said he was unsure whether the high demand for luxury accommodation would continue when international borders reopened.
"Hopefully it's the beginning of something that will continue, so that after the pandemic has finished and people will … go back to their normal holidays, it seems there is a bit of a transition now to maybe holiday here and appreciate your own backyard."
