Fuel prices: West Australians choose to holiday locally this Easter as hip pockets continue to tighten

More West Australians are choosing to holiday locally this Easter, to reduce the hit to hip pockets from petrol prices that remain above the two dollar mark.

Crown Perth is fully-booked this Easter long weekend with last-minute bookings skyrocketing over the past week, despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urging Australians to “go about your business and life as normal”.

“Enjoy your Easter. If you’re hitting the road, don’t take more fuel than you need — just fill up like you normally would,” he said during his national address on Wednesday.

Crown Perth executive general manager Andrew Cairns said Easter was always busy but bookings had surged in recent days.

“We probably have seen a spike and an uptick in last minute bookings,” he said.

“First and foremost it’s convenience, you don’t have to spend hours travelling . . . we’re coming towards the tail end of the sunny and warm weather, so people like to take advantage of that as well.”

James Sayer booked a two-night family staycation, saying he was hesitant to book an interstate or international holiday.

“With the conflict in Iran and possible fuel supply shortages, it was a situation where we didn’t really want to go way up north or way down south,” the Mandurah local said.

“We also wanted to stay local and didn’t want to travel overseas.”

Mr Sayer’s wife, Caryn, said Perth had plenty to do but was close to home in case of any work emergencies.

“Yesterday we did Flight Club and went to the Burswood movies last night,” she said.

“We’ve got our business down in Mandurah, so if there are any issues at home we are still close enough that we can shoot back home, but we’re still far way that we can be in holiday mode.”

Towns in the State’s Gascoyne region, including Exmouth and Carnarvon, have been wiped of tourists following this week’s devastation of Cyclone Narelle.

Exmouth — a popular fishing and snorkelling hotspot — has been left with severe infrastructure damage, with the town’s local airport still closed. The area remains cut off to tourists from the south, with flooding across North West Highway keeping multiple main roads closed.

Premier Roger Cook has urged holidaymakers not to cancel, but to re-schedule instead.

Emergency Services Minister Paul Papalia said power has been restored to 80 per cent of the town.

Nearby Onslow, popular for fishing, has been badly impacted too and is closed to travel.

“Water supplies are continuing to reach Onslow, however it is restricted due to damage to a water main east of the town,” Mr Papalia said.

“Normal output will resume once Water Corporation completes repairs to its southern bore-field infrastructure and restores high voltage power. Current estimates indicate this work will be finalised early next week.

“Importantly, there are no concerns currently regarding fuel or food supplies across impacted communities.”

But Kalbarri’s Visitor Centre said fuel anxiety was deterring potential holidaymakers.

“They just don’t want to get stuck anywhere,” manager Natalie Moir said.

At the bottom end of the State, Albany’s Dog Rock Motel was fully booked despite a four-hour drive from Perth.

“I think the fuel excise cut has really relaxed people a little bit,” the motel’s reception manager Bry Fairhead said.

“It’s not too many families that are coming down, more just couples.”