Western Australia’s Tourism Minister Reece Whitby on stage at Routes Asia 2025 in Perth.
PERTH, Australia—Western Australia’s newly appointed Tourism Minister Reece Whitby used his first formal speech in office to promote Perth as a rising global aviation hub, highlighting strong post-pandemic recovery and ambitious goals for international connectivity.
Speaking on March 25 here at the official opening of Routes Asia 2025, Whitby emphasized the strategic importance of the city as Australia’s western gateway. “There is no better opportunity than this particular conference to start boasting about Perth as an international destination,” he said.
Whitby highlighted the significance of air travel to the state’s economy and visitor economy. “The importance of air connectivity to Western Australia's economy and tourism industry cannot be overstated,” he said. “Ninety-five percent of visitors to this state arrive by air. This highlights the critical role aviation plays in driving tourism and business here.”
He reported that international airline seat capacity into Western Australia has soared to 123% of pre-pandemic levels, while interstate capacity has reached 111%. Perth Airport (PER) is currently handling record traffic, with 16.9 million passengers recorded in 2024.
Additionally, Whitby pointed to Perth’s time zone advantage—sharing time alignment with 60% of the world’s population—and its direct international connections to cities including Paris, Rome, London, Tokyo, Manila, Ho Chi Minh City and Johannesburg.
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Whitby also flagged infrastructure investment in PER, including a major redevelopment that “is set to bring an additional 4.4 million seats when it opens in 2031.”
“Our economy is on a rapid course of diversification here in Western Australia, which will further elevate Perth as an important international destination,” Whitby added.
On the tourism front, Whitby said the sector is already booming. “Tourism spending hit a record in Western Australia last financial year,” he said. “Latest results show visitor spend was A$17.7 billion in the year ending September, with the sector responsible for more than 110,000 jobs locally.” He closed by reaffirming the government’s ambition to grow that spend to $25 billion per annum by 2033.
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