Sunset Coast Strategic Tourism Alliance

The Sunset Coast Strategic Tourism Alliance is a long-standing collaboration between the Cities of Stirling, Joondalup, and Wanneroo.

It’s designed to promote the Sunset Coast region as a unified tourism destination through joint marketing, branding, and close collaboration with Destination Perth to develop and promote the region

Project cost

An annual budget is jointly agreed upon by the three Local Governments, based on previous campaign outcomes. 

The budget varies year to year but typically includes allocations for digital marketing, content creation, and partnership contributions to Destination Perth.

Project timeframe

This has been an ongoing collaboration for over 10 years, with annual planning and campaign cycles.

What was the problem or opportunity being addressed?

The core intent of the Sunset Coast Alliance is to grow the visitor economy, particularly by:

• Increasing visitation to the northern coastal corridor
• Encouraging longer stays and higher visitor yield
• Spreading visitation beyond traditional hotspots and peak periods.

Prior to this initiative, the Sunset Coast region lacked a unified identity and coordinated marketing approach, making it difficult to compete with other Perth Metropolitan destinations. Additionally, it was recognised that visitors don’t perceive or behave according to council boundaries, so promoting the region as a cohesive destination would better reflect actual visitor experiences and behaviours.

How the project addressed the problem or opportunity

To promote the Sunset Coast as a unified and competitive tourism destination, the Cities of Stirling, Joondalup, and Wanneroo formed a strategic alliance. This collaboration reflects how visitors experience the region – across Local Government boundaries – and aims to boost its appeal in a crowded tourism market.

The alliance brings together economic development teams from each Local Government to jointly plan, fund, and deliver tourism initiatives. By pooling resources and aligning priorities, the group has developed innovative marketing strategies that would be difficult for individual Local Governments to achieve alone. Regular meetings help set direction, approve budgets, and coordinate campaigns, ensuring consistency with the Sunset Coast brand.

The Sunset Coast identity is primarily leveraged through Destination Perth’s channels, rather than operating as a fully standalone destination brand.

In practice, the Sunset Coast functions as a subregional, collaborative identity that is activated through:

• Destination Perth campaigns, content and itineraries
• Distribution assets such as the Sunset Coast map and guide (distributed by Hello Perth)
• Cross-promotion by local governments and operators within the corridor.

This approach allows the Sunset Coast to benefit from Destination Perth’s scale, reach and media investment, while still giving the northern coastal corridor a distinct narrative within the broader Destination Perth boundaries. It is not positioned to compete with Destination Perth, but to complement and strengthen Perth’s overall coastal offer.

This collaborative model has enabled the group to test new approaches, deliver consistent messaging, and showcase the region’s diverse offerings – from beaches and cultural attractions to hospitality and nature-based experiences.

Project outcomes

The Sunset Coast alliance has delivered a range of impactful outcomes that have strengthened the region’s tourism presence and enhanced collaboration between the Cities of Stirling, Joondalup, and Wanneroo. 

Examples of these projects over the years include:

• Developing a shared Sunset Coast brand identity and logo to unify the region’s tourism messaging
• Working closely with Destination Perth to support the development and promotion of the Sunset Coast region
• Delivering joint digital and traditional marketing campaigns targeting intrastate and interstate audiences
• Hosting familiarisation tours and supporting the creation of travel blogs to showcase local experiences
• Creating a shared video and image library to support consistent and high-quality content across campaigns
• Ensuring equal representation of all three Local Governments in promotional materials and storytelling
• Sharing resources, expertise, and funding, allowing for greater efficiency and reach
• Exploring new approaches to destination marketing, including testing campaign formats and messaging strategies
• Maintaining a flexible and responsive planning process, adapting to market trends and visitor behaviours
• Strengthening inter-Local Government relationships, fostering long-term collaboration and trust
• While there is no single, definitive metric that isolates visitation to the Sunset Coast as a standalone destination, it is possible to use digital analytics such as search term results, page views and engagement to track trends. 

This includes measuring things like: 

• Event attendance and seasonal uplift in coastal precincts linked to Sunset Coast promotion
• Uptake and use of the Sunset Coast map and guide across visitor touchpoints
• Search behaviour trends, such as growth in Google searches for “Sunset Coast” and related itinerary terms
• Content engagement on Destination Perth channels where Sunset Coast messaging is featured.