Bunbury must forge airport tourism links

Bunbury will need to collaborate with regional tourism groups and focus on accommodation to cash in on the Busselton Regional Airport expansion.

Australia's South West - the peak tourism organisation for the area from the Harvey to Jerramungup shires - is part of a steering committee behind marketing opportunities with the expansion.

Chief executive officer Jasmine Meagher said while Bunbury had "some issues" with accommodation services during major events, the city did have the capacity to accommodate passengers who would fly in to the new airport.

"We have enough capacity with accommodation services at the moment but we will need to look at the provision of those services," Ms Meagher said.

"Realistically, we are not going to be catering for the entire expected number of passengers at one time but we have to work on partnerships with other groups to get people here."

It is expected 112,619 passengers a year will be flying in to the new airport by 2033, according to figures revealed at a briefing yesterday morning organised by Bunbury Chamber of Commerce and Industries.

Ms Meagher said passengers would probably arrive in Busselton on late-night flights - meaning later accommodation check-ins - so hotels would need to look at how they could accommodate those passengers.

South West Development Commission chief executive officer Don Punch and Busselton City Council staff also delivered presentations at the briefing.

Mr Punch said the airport would create a "regional connection" for the entire South West, including Bunbury.

He said the development of a "world-class waterfront" in Bunbury would attract passengers to the city, while upgrades to Bunbury Port would also align with business opportunities.

Acting project control manager Naomi Searle told yesterday's briefing that developers were confident the completion date of the project could be brought forward.

She said the "anticipated milestone" date was January 2018 - almost one year ahead of the original expected completion date of December 2018.