The Liberal Government is taking action towards transforming Tasmania into the environmental tourism capital of the world.

The period to submit Expressions of Interest for sensible and appropriate tourism developments in our National Parks and World Heritage Area closes at 5pm today.

There has been a great deal of excitement about the EOI process, both from investors and the Tasmanian public.

We are very excited by the level of interest that has been shown in the EOI process, with more than 110 requests for additional information having been received.

Through our conversations with investors over the past six months and particularly at the recent TasInvest forum, there have been strong indications of a desire to capitalise on this unique tourism investment opportunity.

This is another important milestone in the Liberal Government’s commitment to grow our economy and create new job opportunities.

The past week has been a momentous one for Tasmania and the Liberal Government is keeping the momentum going to ensure we secure investment and jobs for the state.

We are delivering on our commitment to make our wilderness areas more attractive and accessible to tourists and Tasmanians. The majority of Tasmanians support the aim of making Tasmania the environmental tourism capital of the world, and of our wilderness areas having sensible, appropriate infrastructure and tourist facilities that are genuinely world class.

These areas are an extraordinary natural asset which should not be locked away from the world, but open and accessible for us all to enjoy, while ensuring the environmental and cultural values that make them special are protected.

Proposals received in the EOI process will be assessed through a two stage process. Stage 1 will involve high-level assessment against a number of criteria, including:

• The appropriateness of the particular development to a particular site;
• The qualifications of the proponent to establish and operate the development; and
• The ability of the proponent to finance the development.

Proposals which pass the Stage 1 assessment will then proceed to Stage 2 of the process and will be asked to provide a more detailed proposal which will be assessed by the Coordinator-General.
Details on the number of Expressions of Interest received will be available next week.
Matthew Groom, Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage