TOURISM — ACCOMMODATION — OVERSEAS
BOOKING PLATFORMS
528. Mr D.T. REDMAN to the Minister for Tourism:
I refer to reports of tourism accommodation providers in the
south west being gouged by overseas online booking platforms during busy times.
(1) Is the
minister aware of overseas booking platforms increasing prices without the
knowledge of accommodation providers?
(2) Will the
minister undertake to meet with representatives of online booking platforms in
an effort to curb this un-Australian behaviour?
Mr P. PAPALIA replied:
I thank the member for the question.
(1)–(2)
No, I am not aware of gouging or claims of
gouging; however, I am aware that right around Western Australia, in
just about every region of Western Australia with the exception of East
Kimberley, an extraordinary boom in tourism is going on. Despite the naysayers
and claims by many people opposite and outside this place that Western Australians
would not travel to the regions, that we could not engender an interest in Western
Australians to spend on travel within their own state and explore those
magnificent destinations and attractions that have brought more people to Western
Australia in the last two years from outside the state than ever before in history, that has been proven to be a complete
fallacy. There is a great boom going on. Western Australians are moving
into the regions. They are pursuing the opportunity to discover and explore
like never before and encounter some regions, in many cases, that they have
never seen before. That is a good thing.
I understand that there is a need
for additional people to work, particularly in the hospitality sector, in the
regions. We are working to attract Western Australians to the regions from the
city. We will not be driving them there or making their beds or cleaning their
shoes or looking after whatever their mum might have done for them in the past,
but we will encourage people to seek opportunities in the regions to assist,
because there was an incredible demand in the hospitality sector in particular.
However, I am not aware of online booking agencies gouging. In the event that
something of that nature occurs, I urge everyone who experiences that to report
it to Tourism Western Australia, the agency, and it might be able to see what
can be done.