If you were to drive through Collie, in Western Australia's South West, you could expect to be greeted by an ocean of high-vis clothing and the sweeping waves of the state's largest open-cut coal mine. 

It's one of those historic, dusty, weathered mining towns that you wouldn't exactly label "Instagram-worthy".

But in less than a year Collie,  213 kilometres south of Perth, has uncovered new riches and put itself on the map as a tourism destination.

Many towns are experiencing welcome tourism spikes as Western Australians holiday in their own backyard due to the pandemic-induced border restrictions.  

But tourism operators in this coal-mining town seem to have struck gold.

Collie Visitors Centre manager Janine Page said the number of visitors had doubled in the past nine months.

"It's been much busier than anticipated."

Mural a portrait of success

Ms Page credits a number of major facelifts the town has undergone recently for its newfound popularity.

One of the big drawcards is the stunning 8,000-square-metre mural painted on the side of the Wellington Dam, which was unveiled in February this year.

"It's also bringing quite a few tour buses down to Collie as well."

Several tourism operators said the mural was "Instagram-worthy", as was the picturesque Black Diamond Lake.

Stephen Greville, who owns Kiosk at the Dam, said the unexpected popularity of Collie as a tourism destination had seen the number of visitors increase "a hundred-fold".

Tourism growth to continue

The town's shire president, Sarah Stanley, also runs a lodge and said the only issue facing the town now was the potential for it to run out of accommodation.

But she welcomes the tourism influx, saying it is the beginning of a new chapter for Collie.