Tourism operators in WA to receive grants after storm

Tourism operators ravaged by one of Australia’s most remarkable cyclones will receive grants to help rebuild.

Businesses across north-west Western Australia are still reeling after Tropical Cyclone Narelle left a trail of destruction when it struck days before the peak Easter tourism season.

The weather system caused flooding, cut off towns, destroyed homes and devastated marine wildlife across the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef in WA’s Gascoyne region.

Locals have been working hard to get towns such as Exmouth, one of the hardest hit by Narelle, back up and running for tourists.

One-off relief payments will be rolled out to eligible tourism operators as part of a $1.45 million tourism support package announced by the Cook government on Sunday.

Payments of $10,000 and $20,000 will be available for tour operators, experiences and attractions, and accommodation providers impacted by access closures from the Shires of Carnarvon, Exmouth, Ashburton and Upper Gascoyne.

The package will include 50 per cent discounts on select tours and experiences to incentivise visitors to the region.

WA Tourism Minister Reece Whitby said tourism was crucial to the local economy for communities across the Coral Coast and remained one of the region’s biggest employers.

“We encourage all West Australians to support tourism businesses by visiting the region and helping this iconic part of the state get back to what it does best, which is offering an incredible tourism experience,” he said in a statement on Sunday.

WA Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas said the announcement was welcome, although he would have liked to have seen it sooner.

“It feels to me as though, again, the government is reactive, not proactive,” he said.

“They’ve had some time to get this together, and now finally, the announcement has come.

“I would have liked to have seen it sooner, and I know from the people that I spoke to on the ground in Exmouth and Carnarvon, the uncertainty has been very difficult for them, they would have liked to have seen it sooner also.”

Narelle – which hit northern Queensland before moving west across the NT and reforming in WA – is only the third storm in recorded history to make landfall as a cyclone in three Australian jurisdictions, joining Ingrid (2005) and Steve (2000).

AAP