New research raises over-tourism concerns for Margaret River

Tourism may be putting pressure on more than just Margaret River’s roads and beaches, with a Bond University researcher warning declining community participation could be an early sign of over-tourism.

New research examining popular tourist areas found community participation dropped significantly in those experiencing the highest levels of tourism pressure.

The study tracked Venice, Florence, Rome and Milan between 2009 and 2023, measuring community life through volunteering, involvement in local organisations, attendance at cultural events, voter turnout and crime.

In Venice, the population fell from more than 174,000 residents in 1951 to fewer than 50,000, while tourist accommodation increased.

Bond University senior research fellow Edmund Goh said the findings offered a warning for destinations such as Margaret River, where tourism supports the local economy but could also make it harder for residents to live and work.

“One of the issues with over-tourism, especially for regions like Margaret River, is that it can actually become increasingly difficult to live and to work,” he said.

“So while it’s very attractive to visit, it might cause some difficulties for the locals in terms of their lifestyle.”

Dr Goh said Margaret River’s estimated 2.3 million annual visitors, compared with the local population of about 20,000, meant the region needed to pay close attention to the pressures tourism could create.

“It works out to about one local resident to three visitors,” he said.

“According to data from Air DNA, there’s about 800 to 900 active short-stay listings in the Margaret River region . . . that’s about 10 per cent of the local housing supply.

“This could actually be used for local residents to free up the housing shortage, so we could see some impact on the Margaret River region due to over-tourism.”

Mr Goh said local governments should monitor volunteering, participation in community events and voter turnout to identify potential changes in community life.

“The ABS data shows us that about 760 local residents have actually left Margaret River to live elsewhere in Australia in 2025 . . . having said that, there were also 1200 new residents that actually arrived in Margaret River,” he said.

“Those departures don’t really imply that it could be due to tourism-driven displacements; we don’t really know the real reasons.

“So it’s really for the local government to really understand why local residents are actually choosing to leave Margaret River to live elsewhere.

“Is it because of over-tourism? Is it because of property prices? Family reasons? We don’t really know.”

Shire of Augusta Margaret River president Julia Jean-Rice said tourism supported around 1200 local jobs, boosted local businesses and helped fund the facilities and events that locals enjoy, but the trade-off was busier roads, beaches and carparks, especially during peak season.

“Despite seasonal pressures, we have a proud and connected community with almost one in four residents volunteering, which is around 1.5 times the WA average,” she said.

“Our data indicates housing affordability and cost-of-living pressures are the most consistent barriers to living and working locally, alongside transport, access to education, training and employment challenges for young people.

“Our population has grown by around 6000 people over the past decade, faster than the rest of the South West, and we have no evidence that tourism is driving residents to leave the region.”

Ms Jean-Rice said the shire had a peak season working group comprising residents and stakeholders which met annually to inform the shire to balance the needs of locals and visitors.