Gold boom squeezes tourists out of Kalgoorlie as miners fill hotels

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Airport has become one of the busiest in Western Australia outside of Perth, recording more than half a million passengers over the past 12 months. But the bulk of that traffic comes from mine workers, leaving little room for leisure visitors.

Tourism WA statistics show the region has had some of the highest hotel occupancy rates in the state during the 2025/2026 financial year, peaking at about 90 per cent in October 2025. Rents are at historic highs and vacancies are almost non-existent.

Leanne Kamp, who has run gold prospecting tours through the Goldfields region for two decades, said the influx of miners has made it extremely difficult for tourists to find a place to stay.

"With the mining boom and all the fly-in, fly-out miners, it does really crunch into the available accommodation," she said. "We always cross our fingers because the accommodation is quite difficult to find, and we find that we are booking about 12 months in advance."

The Kalgoorlie-Boulder Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KBCCI) identified the issue as far back as 2022, noting that businesses and workers were increasingly relying on short-term accommodation, with many short-stay establishments now largely servicing workers.

Winter and spring are typically the peak tourism season for the city, with events such as the Diggers and Dealers Mining Conference and the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Race Round drawing thousands of additional visitors.

Kamp said a jump in interest from would-be gold hunters has been good for her business, even as accommodation becomes harder to secure.

Why This Matters

Kalgoorlie's tourism sector, which relies on attractions such as the Super Pit open-cut mine and historic Goldfields experiences, is being squeezed by the very industry that built the city.
The situation reflects a broader trend across Australian mining towns where resource booms distort local housing markets.
If accommodation remains tight, the city risks losing the diversified economic base that tourism provides.

Background

Kalgoorlie-Boulder sits approximately 600 kilometres east of Perth in Western Australia's Goldfields region. The city was founded on the back of the gold rushes of the 1890s and remains a major mining centre. The Super Pit, one of Australia's largest open-cut gold mines, is a significant tourist drawcard. In recent years, a sustained gold boom has driven a surge in fly-in, fly-out workers through the city's airport, putting pressure on housing and short-stay accommodation.

Key Perspectives

Tour Operators: Business is good — interest in gold prospecting tours is rising — but accommodating guests has become a nightmare. Operators like Leanne Kamp are forced to book rooms 12 months ahead and rely on hope that something opens up. Miners and Mining Companies: Demand for worker accommodation is driving up prices and filling hotels, reflecting the economic activity that supports the region. No direct comment from mining interests was included in the source material. Critics/Skeptics: The situation has been flagged since 2022 by the local chamber of commerce, suggesting a long-standing structural problem that has not been addressed. Without intervention, the tourism sector may continue to decline relative to mining.

What to Watch

Whether hotel occupancy rates remain at elevated levels through the 2026/2027 financial year.
Any policy moves by local or state government to reserve some accommodation for tourists or encourage new housing development.
The impact on major events such as the Diggers and Dealers conference and the Kalgoorlie-Boulder Race Round if accommodation becomes impossible to secure.

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