Northcliffe, Pemberton tourist hot spots
NORTHCLIFFE and Pemberton were at the heart of a tourism boom over the festive and holiday periods as tourists discovered the region's attractions.
Northcliffe and Pemberton Visitor Centre manager Wendy Eiby said Pemberton had received consistent numbers while visitors to the Northcliffe centre had quadrupled in December compared to 2013.
"In December 2013 we had 733 people come through compared to 2798 in December 2014 while there were twice as many that came through in the entire year compared to 2013," she said.
Ms Eiby said some of the popular attractions included the D'Entrecasteaux National Park, Understory Art Trail, the Karri Forest Explorer Drive and the Shannon Campground.
"I've talked to people at the galleries and the various tourist destinations and they have all been popular," she said.
Ms Eiby said the increase in tourists going through Northcliffe could be attributed to the work in conjunction with other tourist centres and the wildflowers on show.
"It's a real mixture of tourists - people from the metro area and international tourists coming to check out the area," she said.
"We've had wildlife carers come into the Pemberton Visitor Centre and that's proved to be popular with our international guests."
Manjimup Visitor Centre manager Roy Piggott said they had received consistent numbers during the holiday period.
"We had about 250 per day during last week which compared to previous years seem to be consistent," he said.
"A lot of people are staying locally and checking Fonty's Pool, Glenoran Pool and Big Brook Dam before travelling to Windy Harbour.
"Most are from WA but there is a sprinkling of interstate and international visitors."
Mr Piggott and Ms Eiby expect tourist numbers to be steady before dropping in about two weeks.
Many visitors enjoyed the Tree Top Walk in Walpole. Parks and Wildlife regional manager Peter Keppel said nearly 10,000 people had visited from Christmas Eve to New Year's Eve - an increase of 3.7 per cent on last year.
"This is a great end of year result for us as we experienced a year of significant milestones including the 3 millionth visitor and the 18th birthday celebrations of the Tree Top Walk," he said.
"There is still a strong demand for nature-based experiences and the region is well positioned to provide plenty of opportunities to encounter wilderness at its very best through the Walpole Wilderness Discovery Centre."
Mr Keppel said many visitors enjoyed the multi-million dollar Mount Frankland Wilderness Lookout for the first time.
