Make the 'new' Perth your stopover enroute to London

Following yesterday's release of fares on Qantas' brand new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner from Perth to London, there are many reasons why visitors should stopover in Perth.

Western Australia's capital city has never looked so appealing, offering an exciting and lively urban and natural environment for visitors.

Long celebrated as one of the world's prettiest and most liveable cities, Perth is now striding confidently on to the international stage as a leading player in Australia's cultural, hospitality and events scene.

More visitors than ever are marvelling at the explosion in attractions, accommodation and nightlife which complements the city's natural beauty – delivering an all-round, exceptional destination.

Perth now offers some of the best value hotel and short stay accommodation in Australia following the raft of new and refurbished properties that have opened in the CBD and surrounding urban and coastal areas. Not only are visitors enjoying more choice in accommodation, they're also saving with Perth hoteliers offering up some great deals.

Inbound passengers will be able to stopover in Perth without incurring a fee, and Qantas will enable Australian passengers flying to London on the route to stopover in Perth with no additional stopover fee in one or both directions, depending on fare type.

Dispersal to regional areas will also be encouraged, with heavily discounted Qantas Australian Explorer fares for stopover passengers available to WA airports.

Top reasons to visit the 'new' Perth:

URBAN OFFERINGS

• The vibrant waterfront precinct of Elizabeth Quay opened in 2016, connecting Perth's central business district to the Swan River. It's quickly become a focal point for visitors and locals, with an ever-expanding range of attractions. Multiple development projects are taking shape, including the Ritz-Carlton's first WA property in a prime riverfront location.
• Perth's redevelopment has inevitably led to a wining and dining boom. Fresh WA produce and wines are available at new bars, cafes, and restaurants, including Shadow Bar and Dining Room, Odyssea, COAST, Ku De Ta, The Standard, Isle of Voyage and The Reveley to name a few. The recently renovated State Buildings precinct, with its high ceilings and grand halls, is home to some of the city's best bars and restaurants including Petition Kitchen, Long Chim and Wildflower.
• New Indigenous tours in Perth are enabling visitors to discover more about local Aboriginal lands and culture. Jump on board a solar electric boat for Indigenous Experiences Australia's two-hour cruise along the Derbal Yerrigan (Swan River), learning about ancestral stories, sacred places and legendary warrior Yagan. Back on land, walking tours with GoCultural's Noongar guides reveal fascinating alignments between modern Perth and ancient Aboriginal sites and tracks.
• Previously separated by a train line, the city centre is reconnecting with the Northbridge entertainment precinct through the Perth City Link project, near Perth Arena. Already up and running within the 13.5 hectare development are a state-of-the-art, subterranean bus station and the 120-room Peppers Kings Square, which will soon be joined by other accommodation including The Dorsett. Perth City Link's flagship public space, Yagan Square, is due to be unveiled in late 2017 with a design that celebrates WA through gardens, water feature, public art, and a digital tower and canopies for light, art, video projections and interactive content.
• Formerly disused heritage buildings and laneways are now home to bustling bars and street art. Through independent non-profit group FORM, more than 80 walls across Perth and surrounding suburbs have become a canvas for local, interstate and international artists.

COASTAL REVIVAL

• Fremantle was included in Lonely Planet's 2016 Best in Travel guide for good reason. With more than $1 billion dollars of redevelopment in the planning pipeline, look out for new venues such as Seashells and the Sweetwater rooftop bar in the Richmond Quarter, COAST at Port Beach, Segway and self-guided walking tours, a range of cruises and a thriving craft beer scene.
• Scarborough Beach is on its way to becoming one of Australia's best beachfronts. A $100 million foreshore redevelopment is set to be unveiled in early 2018, including a beachside swimming pool, cafes, restaurants, kiosks, public art and a skate park, as well as improved transport.
• Slightly further south, popular City Beach is home to lush lawns, white sand and an expanding range of waterfront dining options including the chilled-out deck at newly opened Odyssea Beach Café and watching sunsets from Clancy's Fish Bar.
• Visitors to Rottnest Island will see upgrades to the golf course and walk trails, as well as a new marina. An upmarket 'glamping' experience is expected to open at Pinky's Beach in late 2017.

DAY TRIPS
Few cities have such an impressive range of activities at their doorstep. Journeys between 30 minutes and two hours from central Perth could see visitors swimming with dolphins in Rockingham, tasting award-winning beverages in the Swan Valley wine region, taking a quokka selfie on Rottnest Island or walking among eerie limestone formations at the Pinnacles. New tours are also showcasing the bushland and culinary creations of the Perth Hills, and it's now possible to do the Margaret River region in a day from Perth with sightseeing packages through Swan River Seaplanes.
 
ADDITIONAL TRAVEL NEWS…

Accommodation availability
The city is shaking off its former reputation for costly accommodation stemming from WA's mining boom, with the average daily rate in the Perth CBD down 16.5% in 2016 compared to 20121 (source: STR Global data). Nowadays, the city is again an attractive option for holidaymakers who will find rooms to suit all budgets.

Since 2012, 20 new or redeveloped hotels have opened in and around Perth, adding nearly 1,800 new rooms to the local market. These include COMO at the Treasury which has been named as Australia's best city hotel, and the six-star Crown Towers Perth. In the next four years, a further 16 new or redeveloped hotels will come online, adding more than 2,800 new rooms. It's about quality and quantity with a broad selection of boutique, big name and luxury accommodation options coming online including the Ritz-Carlton's first Australian property in 10 years, The Westin in the eastern CBD and three developments from the DoubleTree group.

Sports tourism
With the deluxe 60,000-seat Perth Stadium due to open early 2018 and impressive international fixtures already locked in, Perth is fast becoming a sport lover's dream destination. Adding to Perth's other quality sports venues – such as Perth Arena and nib Stadium – the new stadium is already shaping up as one of the world's most technologically advanced major venues. Events scheduled for Perth Stadium include:

• Chelsea Football Club (July or August 2018). In an Australian exclusive, the Premier League powerhouse will take on local heroes Perth Glory.
• Bledisloe Cup (August 2019). The only time the Australian Wallabies and New Zealand All Blacks teams will play on Australian soil in 2019 in the lead-up to the Rugby World Cup.
• Rugby League State of Origin (2019). Regarded as Australia's biggest annual sporting event, the New South Wales Blues clash with the Queensland Maroons in a fiercely contested game that will attract thousands of visitors, particularly from interstate.

More extraordinary experiences within three hours of Perth

• Get a taste of Margaret River. A favourite escape for nature-lovers and gourmands alike, Margaret River produces some of the best wine in Australia with more than 200 wineries, as well as stunning beaches, tall-timber forests, caves and world-class surf breaks. Just a three hours' drive south of Perth, this year the region is celebrating its 50 year anniversary of making award-winning chardonnays and cabernet sauvignons with new walking, wine and helicopter tours.
• Swim with giants at Ningaloo Reef. The world's longest fringing reef has long been regarded as one of the most reliable places in the world to swim with the gentle whale shark (March to July), and now the WA government has granted licenses for a select number of operators to trial humpback whale swimming experiences too (August to October). This year also sees the reopening of the Navy Pier in Exmouth – rated one of the best shore dives in the world. This World Heritage-listed wonder is only a two hour flight from Perth and also on the Qantas Explorer pass when you buy your international airfare to get cheaper fares.
• Discover Australia's last great wilderness, the Kimberley. Broome, where the Outback meets the Indian Ocean, is only a 2.5 hour flight from Perth and also on the Qantas Explorer pass. Take a camel ride along the 22km white sands of Cable Beach, explore the mangroves with an aboriginal guide or visit the world's oldest outdoor cinema here. This former pearling town is also a gateway to the wider Kimberley, an untouched savannah landscape with stunning waterfalls, ancient gorges and rock art, the unique world's only horizontal waterfalls and the World Heritage-listed Bungle Bungle Range at Purnululu National Park.

Tickets for the world's first direct flights from Perth to London are now on sale, with the new 14,498 kilometre journey becoming the first regular passenger service to directly link Australia with Europe.

For more information on Western Australia please visit: westernaustralia.com

To view a 'Just Another Day in WA' moment, visit the below links:
facebook.com/ExtraordinaryWesternAustralia
justanotherday.westernaustralia.com

Check-out WA's exciting events calendar at this link: westernaustralia.com/events

For more information on Qantas please visit: qantasnewsroom.com.au/media-releases/qantas-puts-the-new-kangaroo-route-on-sale

ENDS

To discuss feature ideas or find out more about Western Australia, contact:

Tourism Western Australia A/Destination and Events PR Executive
Emily Andrews
emily.andrews@westernaustralia.com 
(08) 9262 1811

Tourism Western Australia Destination and Events PR Manager
Jayde Little
jayde.little@westernaustralia.com
(08) 9262 1769