What Role Does Tourism Play in Regional Economic Development?

There is an increasing conversation happening across regional Australia about the role tourism plays in economic development and rightly so. Historically, tourism has often been treated as a standalone industry focused primarily on visitor attraction and destination marketing. But increasingly, governments, regional development organisations, businesses, and communities are recognising that tourism is far more interconnected with broader economic, social, and community outcomes than many people once realised.

At Wander, we see tourism as part of a much larger regional development ecosystem. It is not simply about attracting visitors to a destination. It is about understanding the economic ripple effects, investment opportunities, business stimulation, infrastructure improvements, community identity, and place-based outcomes that tourism can generate over time.

Importantly, tourism is no longer just about iconic attractions or postcard destinations. Across regional Western Australia, communities are increasingly recognising that tourism can emerge from local experiences, niche industries, culture, creativity, environment, events, agriculture, and lifestyle.

Tourism has become much broader than simply having a landmark people want to photograph.

Tourism Creates Economic Ripple Effects

One of the biggest shifts in tourism thinking is the growing recognition of the flow-on effects tourism creates across local economies.

Visitor expenditure does not stop at accommodation providers or tourism operators. Tourism supports hospitality venues, retail businesses, transport providers, fuel stations, local producers, artists, event organisers, tour operators, trades, cleaners, suppliers, and countless small businesses operating within regional communities.

If someone stays overnight in a town, buys dinner locally, visits a gallery, attends an event, purchases something from the corner shop, books a tour, or fills up their car before leaving, tourism is already influencing the local economy.

Even businesses that may not traditionally view themselves as part of the tourism sector are often connected to it in some way.

This broader understanding matters because it reframes tourism from being a niche industry into a contributor to regional economic development more broadly.

Tourism Is Becoming More Diverse and Experience-Led

Another major shift is the growing diversification of tourism experiences across regional, rural, and remote Australia.

Historically, many tourism strategies focused heavily on natural landmarks or major attractions. While these assets remain incredibly important, tourism is increasingly being shaped by experiences, niche interests, and place-based identity.

Across regional Western Australia, this includes areas such as:

• agri-tourism

• eco-tourism

• astro-tourism

• arts and cultural tourism

• food tourism

• heritage tourism

• event tourism

• nature-based tourism

• wellness tourism

  
  

This shift is important because it allows smaller communities and businesses to participate in tourism in ways that reflect their own strengths, industries, culture, and identity.

A town does not necessarily need a globally recognised attraction to contribute to the visitor economy. If people are travelling to experience a place, attend an event, engage with local culture, explore local industries, or participate in a unique experience, tourism is already occurring.

This creates significant opportunities for regional economic diversification and local business development.

Tourism and Place-Based Development Are Closely Connected

Tourism works best when it reflects the identity and character of a place rather than attempting to replicate generic visitor experiences.

This is where tourism intersects strongly with place-based development, community engagement, stakeholder engagement, and strategic planning. Every regional community has different aspirations, capacities, sensitivities, and priorities. What works for one town may not suit another.

Across rural and remote Western Australia, communities are often navigating a complex balance between economic opportunity and preserving the character and lifestyle that make those places attractive to begin with.

This is a very real conversation in many small country towns.

People often choose to live in regional communities because they value the pace, identity, connectedness, and lifestyle those places offer. Increased visitation can bring economic growth, business opportunities, infrastructure investment, and improved services, but it can also create tension if communities feel growth is changing the identity of the place itself.

There is no universal solution to this challenge because it is deeply place-based.

The question is not simply whether tourism growth is “good” or “bad.” The more important question is how tourism can be developed in ways that strengthen local economies and community outcomes without losing the qualities that made the place special in the first place.

That requires thoughtful planning, meaningful engagement, governance, and long-term strategic thinking.

Tourism Can Improve Outcomes for Locals Too

One of the most overlooked aspects of tourism development is that investment designed for visitors often improves outcomes for local communities as well.

Tourism can help justify improved infrastructure, better public spaces, stronger hospitality offerings, increased event programming, upgraded facilities, enhanced connectivity, and greater investment into local experiences and amenities.

In many regional communities, tourism activity helps sustain businesses and services that locals also rely upon.

This is why tourism should not be viewed purely through a visitor lens. Strong tourism development can contribute to broader liveability outcomes, economic resilience, community activation, and regional confidence.

However, this only works when communities are meaningfully involved in shaping tourism development and when local context is properly understood.

Tourism Requires Systems Thinking

One of the biggest mistakes in tourism planning is treating tourism separately from broader regional development strategy.

Tourism is deeply interconnected with infrastructure, housing, workforce attraction, transport, events, economic diversification, placemaking, arts and culture, hospitality, community wellbeing, and investment attraction.

This means tourism planning requires systems thinking.

Strong tourism strategies need to consider not just how to attract visitors, but how tourism integrates into the broader social and economic ecosystem of a region. This is particularly important across regional Western Australia, where communities often operate with limited resources and highly interconnected local economies.

At Wander, this systems-thinking approach sits at the centre of how we approach regional development, stakeholder engagement, strategy, events, and facilitation. Tourism is not simply about marketing destinations. It is about understanding people, place, community identity, economic systems, and long-term sustainability.

The Future of Tourism Is About More Than Visitors

Increasingly, tourism is being recognised not as a standalone industry conversation, but as part of a much broader discussion about regional economic development, liveability, identity, and the future of regional communities.

The regions that will thrive into the future are likely to be those that understand how tourism connects with community outcomes, local business ecosystems, place-based identity, and broader economic resilience.

At Wander, we believe tourism works best when it is approached holistically, strategically, and with genuine understanding of place.

Because ultimately, successful tourism is not just about attracting more people.

It is about creating stronger, more sustainable, and more connected regional communities.