Call for race week revamp

Tourism operators are calling for more mid-week events to take advantage of visitors in the region for Thursday’s Bunbury Cup.

City accommodation providers expect a big influx of visitors to Bunbury on Cup Day but believe a better spread of events in the run up to the event would maximise revenue from the South West’s premier race meet.

“It’s always busier than usual over Bunbury Cup week but we only reach 100 per cent occupancy on the weekends and on the Thursday,” Discovery Holiday Parks Koombana Bay manager Shane Conquer said.

“The Bunbury Viva is great because it encourages tourists to come down a day before the Cup, but there is nothing really special happening between Stakes Day (on Sunday) and then.”

Quality Lord Forrest Hotel general manager Christina Mitchell agreed, saying sports tourism had the potential to attract thousands of dollars to the city.

“We’d love to see the city host more events — race meets, cricket masters, footy carnivals — these attract people to Bunbury, with many of them staying more than just one night.”

Australia’s South West acting executive Jasmine Meagher said the range of activities during the Autumn Racing Carnival helped to raise the city’s profile.

“Regional events are an important element in destination promotion for regional areas as they create incentive to travel for traditional and new visitor markets,” Ms Meagher said.

“The array of Bunbury Cup celebrations encourages visitors to extend their stay.”