COVID-19: Mark McGowan to reconnect with China, Korea, Japan as part of pandemic recovery

Mark McGowan will embark on a “reconnection tour” of China, Korea and Japan in an effort to re-acquaint the world with WA – after being shut off from the world for two years. The Premier said once international travel begins in earnest in WA next year, he intends meeting in person with government and business leaders overseas to bring back tourism to the west as well as overseas students and conferences. “When international borders reopen I will go back to our major trading partners – in particular China, Japan and Korea to ensure we have strong connection. And I’ll ask ministers to do the same,” Mr McGowan said. “(I’ll go) around the world to recreate those connections. “That will be good for our trading enterprises, but also for tourism, for international students, for conferences, for all those things that are good for local industry.” WA has been virtually cut off from Australia, and the rest of the world, since COVID-19 hit in March 2020. Mr McGowan said on Friday that the shackles of hard borders and international travel restrictions would be unlocked by early February – at which time it was hoped that WA’s double-vaccination rate was 90 per cent. He said his message to the world would be: “Western Australia is open for business”. “That we welcome tourists, and flights and international students and we want to keep our traditional export industries strong and we want to continue to have good bilateral relations,” he said. “A reconnection tour. “We will put significant resources behind tourism, international students and conferences.” He said ministers would hold a series of roundtable meetings with WA business leaders to get their views on what needed to be done in 2022 to bring back lost business to WA during COVID-19. But as WA eyed off a new era of living with COVID-19, there were major concerns that WA’s double vaccination rate was still dragging – holding up the bringing down of interstate and international hard borders. In particular, there are concerns the 40 and under age group is dragging its feet. Tourism Council WA chief executive Evan Hall said on Saturday enticing tourists from NSW, Victoria and overseas was vital to the recovery of WA in 2022. But he said an expected February reopening of borders meant many WA tourist operators were facing financial ruin. “We need a huge push, but more importantly we need some support to keep the businesses operational who will take those bookings from interstate and overseas,” he said. AMA, WA boss Mark Duncan-Smith on Saturday called for an immediate advertising campaign to encourage young people to get vaccinated. He said restrictions for unvaccinated West Australians should start now – and not when WA hits the 90 per cent mark. “I’d approach it as a carrot and stick approach to young people,” he said. “I think there should be a clever advertising campaign specifically targeted towards young people, showing them the benefits for them – not society – to get vaccinated such as the ability to travel and to go to social events within Western Australia.”