Just as birds migrate to escape the winter chill, so do thousands of tourists, heading north in the colder months to bask in w-a's sunny spots. But that well-trodden path creates a boom-and-bust cycle in regional towns. A move is underway to encourage visitors to embrace the beauty of cold weather.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00This is not the postcard image of kangaroos and summer sun that made Esperance's Lucky
00:07Bay famous, but Jamie and Gail Henderson aren't complaining.
00:11You've got the place to yourself sort of thing and you can do what you like and not
00:15get run over by tourists.
00:19Esperance is among a long list of coastal towns pushed to breaking point by summer tourism
00:24only to have the industry grind to a halt over winter.
00:27And it's very, very quiet.
00:30Around 60% of this brewery's annual revenue is generated in three months.
00:34Then you've got the high level of overheads to carry through winter and that's a very
00:40difficult balancing act.
00:42To break that boom-bust cycle, the region is encouraging travellers to enjoy these locations
00:46year round.
00:47There's so many people that come expecting beautiful conditions, get here and it's a
00:53bit windy and they get in their car and leave again.
00:55We really want them to be able to embrace it for what it is.
00:57If it's a windy day, get out and feel that wind in your face.
01:01Eight years ago, Margaret River had a similar dilemma, but it launched Cabin Fever Festival
01:06to attract off-season visitors and workers.
01:09It gives a little bit of sustainability for those businesses and then that income that
01:13comes through over those months, which would typically be quiet, is hugely beneficial.
01:18Cairns has also had success attracting more visitors during the quiet summer wet season.
01:23We really shifted our thinking to start celebrating that seasonality and honing in on each of
01:29the seasons and what makes them particularly special.
01:33But convincing visitors to change their plans takes time.
01:37It's taken many years of campaign activity for us to start shifting that thinking.
01:43But not everyone needs persuading.
01:45Main thing is rug up, wear appropriate clothes and be warm.
01:50Come down the cold, bring the cold with the gear.
01:53A handy piece of advice for anyone following in their winter footsteps.