Labor’s pre-election tourism pledge has left the state’s peak industry body wanting, at a time it says many Western Australian business owners are on their knees.
The WA Tourism Council has called on both Labor and the Liberals to commit $50 million towards a support package for at-risk tourism businesses badly hit by COVID-19.
Tourism Council WA chief executive officer Evan Hall said the package would need to include waiving land taxes, water rates, national park and transport licence fees, as well as providing direct financial support to the worst-affected businesses.
Mr Hall said around a third of tourism businesses were still on JobKeeper and would be forced to close or drastically reduce their staff numbers due to ongoing border…