Western Australian tourism operators say the state has been shunned by the federal government after it was announced more than a billion dollars would be spent on discount airline tickets in a bid to save the aviation and tourism sectors once JobKeeper ends.

The federal government is offering 800,000 half-price airline tickets from April 1 to more than a dozen destinations.

Broome is the only destination on the list in Western Australia.

“It’s a complete head shaker,” 6PR Mornings host Liam Bartlett said of Perth’s exclusion from the list.

South west businessman Glenn Callegari said the Margaret River region had been left hung out to dry.

“I’m a little concerned, not so much for my own business, but there’s a lot of tourism providers across the Margaret River region and some have up to 90 per cent international tourist dependency,” he explained.

“It’s a sad headline for them to wake up to.

“These businesses are on death’s door and they need help and there’s not much on offer for them, including Perth.

“I just can’t believe Perth has been left out.”

But it’s not all bad news.

“This will certainly give us a big boost,” John Geappen, who runs Red Sun Camels in Broome, said of the package.

“Historically, our research shows the biggest complaint with people getting to Broome is the cost of the airfare.

“So if we can half that, it’s going to make it mightily attractive.”

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