Our Story

Our Mission

Astrotourism WA Founder, Carol Redford, has spent almost 20 years working in the dark sky tourism field in Western Australia. Sometimes known as “Galaxy Girl” in astronomy circles, Carol knows how special the WA night sky is. With Astrotourism WA, she is now working towards making sure our world-class dark night sky is preserved for decades to come for visitors from around the world. We’re on our way to make WA the stargazing capital of the world!

“Western Australia’s night sky is an asset worth protecting. Communities around WA are working to keep the night sky as dark as possible by reducing light pollution. While we’re protecting our night sky, we’re inviting visitors from around the world to share its beauty. At the same time, we’re growing our understanding of how stargazing brings people together.” 

What we’re doing…

Perth is the most isolated capital city on a continent in the world. Most West Australians live in Perth which leaves a vast area with small, welcoming communities, low levels of light pollution and the darkest night sky on the planet. From a global perspective, WA has an asset that is disappearing around the world and worthy of protection.

Carol commenced the Astrotourism Towns Project with Local Governments in 2018 with the aim to:

• develop and promote dark sky destinations; and
• work together to reduce light pollution and protect the dark night sky asset.

The project has come a long way and has achieved some terrific milestones. Some of these include:

• We’ve mapped over 50 dark sky locations where people can enjoy stargazing at its best.
• The Department of Planning developed a Dark Sky and Astrotourism Position Statement.
• The Western Power Public Lighting Asset Management Strategy recognises that smart LED streetlights and dark sky initiatives are expected to influence the profile and function of public lighting assets.
• Tourism WA completed a Dark Sky Tourism Market Research Study indicating that 35% of the Australian population are “astro-enthusiasts” with 71% of this market anticipating to spend the same or more than a typical holiday. Tourism WA’s Visitor Experience and Expectations Research (VEER) 2023-24 indicated that almost all visitors (95%) stated that they are interested in a dark sky tourism activity.
• Tourism WA has also developed a Guide to Developing a Dark Sky Experience, a tool for dark sky tourism operators.
• Scitech’s Here, There and Everywhere gallery includes a new Light Pollution exhibit that allows curious minds to explore the effects of artificial light and consider how they can make positive changes to help limit it.  
• Several Aboriginal Astronomy Plansipheres have been created with communities around WA. These beautiful star charts explain cultural stories and show you how to find Aboriginal constellations in the night sky.