WA government commits $20 million to Aboriginal tourism through next-generation Jina Action Plan

The Western Australian Government and Tourism Western Australia have committed $5 million per year over four years – a total of $20 million – to grow the state’s Aboriginal tourism sector under a new four-year action plan, with the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council welcoming the investment as a chance to lock in a decade of growth.

The funding will be delivered through Jina: Western Australian Aboriginal Tourism Action Plan 2026-2030, announced on Thursday 7 May. Jina, which takes its name from a Noongar word for “foot” or “footprint”, is the successor to the 2021-2025 plan that was developed with WAITOC and which the new program continues and extends through to the end of the decade.

WAITOC, the peak body representing more than 200 Aboriginal tourism businesses across WA, worked with Tourism WA and other agencies to develop the new Plan, and will collaborate on its delivery over the next four years. The plan aims to build the capacity of Aboriginal people to enter the sector and to facilitate the development of authentic Aboriginal cultural experiences for a domestic and international visitor market that has more than doubled in recent years.

WAITOC chief executive Robert Taylor, a Nanda Yamatji man and current chair of the First Nations Visitor Economy Partnership, said the previous Jina program had delivered measurable outcomes for operators and the broader visitor economy.

“Jina has proven to be a highly successful program, supporting Aboriginal tourism operators to build capability, grow their businesses and share culture with domestic and international visitors in a meaningful way,” Mr Taylor said.

“We are grateful for the continued investment from the State Government. This new funding to 2030 will allow us to build on that success and ensure Aboriginal tourism businesses across Western Australia are supported to thrive well into the future.”

WAITOC chair Darren ‘Capes’ Capewell said the organisation’s record over more than two decades positioned it well to deliver on the new plan.

“For over 24 years, WAITOC has been at the forefront of developing Aboriginal tourism businesses and promoting WA’s cultural experiences on a global scale,” Mr Capewell said.

In its announcement, WAITOC pointed to the foundational pull of WA for cultural tourism: visitors have “long been captivated by Western Australia’s vast, ancient landscapes and the stories of its First Nations Peoples, who are custodians of the world’s oldest living culture spanning more than 60,000 years”.

The original 2021-2025 Jina Plan identified 69 individual action items and was supported by a $20 million Aboriginal Tourism Fund. Tourism WA’s own data has previously shown that more than 80 per cent of people visiting WA say they want to take part in an authentic Aboriginal tourism experience, but only around 17 per cent actually do so – a supply gap that has driven much of WAITOC’s case for sustained government investment.

The next-generation plan will continue to support flagship initiatives developed under Jina 2021-2025, including the Camping with Custodians program, an Australian-first model that has established a network of high-quality campgrounds on Aboriginal lands operated by community. The program generates income, employment and training opportunities while showcasing local culture on Country.

Aboriginal tourism remains a key goal area in Tourism WA’s 10-year WA Visitor Economy Strategy 2033, which sets the broader roadmap for the sector. The Jina Plan continues to be delivered alongside the Regional Aboriginal Events Scheme and Tourism WA’s Campaign with Custodians initiative.

Australia’s Aboriginal tourism sector forms part of a global Indigenous tourism industry that the World Travel and Tourism Council projects will inject around US$67 billion into the global economy.