Western Australia (WA) will be the prime location in the world to view a total solar eclipse (TSE) due to take place a year from now, so the state government is investing $19.3 million to organise an event surrounding the rare occurrence.
WA is expected to see a major increase in international and domestic visitors to observe this natural phenomenon, which will see the sun, moon, and earth align at 11.27am on April 20, 2023.
“This will be great for tourism operators and local businesses, with thousands of international and domestic visitors travelling to the Coral Coast region,” he said.
The town of Exmouth has been indentified as the best land-based location in the world to view the TSE, and full darkness is expected on the peninsular.
Other locations around WA will experience different percentages of a partial solar eclipse, including—from higher to lower—Coral Bay, Karratha, Carnarvon, Geralton, and Perth.
A TSE takes place when the sun is blocked by the silhouette of the moon, and although the process of the moon moving across the sun’s path takes several hours, the period of complete darkness lasts just over a minute.
Despite the short duration of the eclipse, Tourism WA anticipates visitors will stay in the region for around five days, and will therefore be organising a major event to celebrate the celestial phenomenon and promote WA as a dark sky tourism destination.
Funding for the event, which comes as part of the 2022-23 State Budget, brings total funding to $21 million, and will see the Department of Jobs, Trade, Tourism, and Innovation (JTSI) lead a whole-of-government approach to manage it.
“An event of this size presents logistical challenges, particularly for telecommunications, roads and infrastructure, and this extra funding will help ensure the event runs as smoothly as possible,” Cook said.
The state government’s commitments through the funding include $8.2 million for road infrastructure upgrades and traffic management, $5.4 million to increase the capacity of the region’s telecommunications infrastructure, and $5 million to JTSI for event management, which includes upgrades to footpaths, lighting, and landscaping at Town Beach.
In addition, $1.1 million will be allocated to the Department of Biodiversity, Conservations and Attractions for event and waste management costs.
“Beyond tourism, astronomical events such as this have the potential to inspire the next generation to learn more about our universe, and take up science, technology, engineering and maths studies and careers,” Cook said.
