Significant Rise in Parks Visitation

The Liberal Government is committed to building on our competitive strengths to attract visitors and grow our economy.

We’ve set a target of attracting 1.5 million visitors to the state by 2020, which the industry says would create 8,000 new jobs.

During 2013-14, the number of visitors to our national parks increased significantly over the previous year, with data showing a rise of over 12 per cent across the board.

Mt Field led the way with a 39 per cent increase in visitation in the 2013-14 financial year, bringing visitor numbers to a record 141,000.

Freycinet National Park remains Tasmania’s most visited park, welcoming 217,000 visitors, an increase of 14 per cent on the previous year.

Maria Island is another strong performer with an increase in visitation of 21 per cent.

The Liberal Government has opened an Expressions of Interest process for developments and tourism proposals in National Parks and the World Heritage Area, with the aim of making Tasmania the environmental tourism capital of the world.

These visitation figures indicate the possibilities for the state’s tourism sector and the economy if we can continue to bring more people to our Parks and offer them reasons to stay longer and spend more.
Matthew Groom, Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage