Visitor numbers up at Rottnest

Nearly 650,000 people visited Perth’s iconic tourist destination Rottnest Island in the 2017 financial year, with about a third coming from either interstate or overseas.

The number of visitors to the island climbed 5.9 per cent in FY17 to 647,524 visitors, according to the Rottnest Island Authority’s annual report, with about half of those being day visitors.

Of those visitors, about 420,000 took the ferry to reach the island, while about 214,000 represented boating visitors.

About 67 per cent of visitors were Western Australians, whilst interstate visitors made up just slightly more of the total demographic than international visitors (17 per cent versus 16 per cent respectively).

The island reported an average annual serviced accommodation occupancy of 71 per cent, with overall visitor satisfaction at 97 per cent.

“This unprecedented level of visitation underlines the island’s prominence as a favourite holiday destination for Western Australians and other visitors, as well as its contribution to tourism in the state,” RIA chairman John Driscoll said.

“It is also pleasing to note that levels of visitor satisfaction have remained at an outstanding 97 per cent.

“Ageing infrastructure and the legislation that governs operations and services on Rottnest Island creates a very challenging dynamic.”

The island generated a net profit of $8.04 million for RIA in FY17, up from $2.42 million in FY16.

Underlying profit came in a $1.81 million when excluding Commonwealth and state government grants.