Strong demand for Overland Track bookings

The Hodgman Liberal Government’s number one priority is jobs and we have an ambitious target to grow the number of visitors to Tasmania to 1.5 million by 2020, which the industry says will create 8,000 new jobs.

I’m pleased to announce the popularity of Tasmania’s iconic Overland Track continues to grow with a massive increase in interest in walking the iconic Track next walking season.

When bookings for the coming season opened on July 1st, 323 bookings were made that day alone, almost double last year’s opening of 167 bookings. As of today, 586 bookings have been made, totalling 1,671 walkers.

Parks and Wildlife Service have advised that the peak Christmas holiday period from the 26th of December 2015 to the 6th of January 2016 is already fully booked and that the week leading into Christmas is rapidly filling. My message to those contemplating walking the Overland Track in the peak summer holidays or over the Easter break is to book soon so you don’t miss out.

Around 8000 individual walkers paid a total of around $1 million to take on the challenge of the Overland Track last year. This money is used by the Parks and Wildlife service to maintain and improve the experience on offer.

Tasmania’s reputation as a must-visit destination continues to go from strength to strength. Just today we’ve seen Wine Tasmania report a 25 per cent increase in visitor numbers to vineyard cellar doors over the past year while QANTAS has announced a weekend Brisbane to Hobart service early next year. We also know that visitation to Tasmania’s national parks has increased by as much as 22 per cent in the 12 months to May.

This follows the latest Tasmanian Visitor Survey which shows holiday visitor numbers are up by 16 per cent, and spending is up by 20 percent to $1.26 billion.

These are all further signs of growing confidence in the economy and shows the appetite tourists have for visiting our beautiful state, with its world-class wilderness and premium fresh produce.

The eyes of the world are on Tasmania and the Hodgman Liberal Government is building on the momentum to create jobs and grow the economy.
Matthew Groom, Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage