Build it and they will come – bookings surge for Three Capes track

The Hodgman Liberal Government has a goal to transform Tasmania into the environmental tourism capital of the world to drive economic growth and create jobs.

Within the first 24 hours of being open, nearly 300 people have already booked in to walk the Three Capes track.

That’s an average of one booking every five minutes over the last 24 hours.

While the lion’s share of bookings are from Australians, already we’ve had bookings from people in New Zealand, China, Canada and Germany. This shows that the Three Capes track has the potential to become an internationally significant attraction, helping to bring more visitors to our State and creating jobs in Tasmania, especially in regional areas.

So far, over 100 people from New South Wales, 41 people from Queensland, 53 people from Victoria and 39 Tasmanians have all booked their places.

This is a fantastic result for the region and the State as a whole and is a great sign of things to come.

In addition to the new Three Capes track experience, all existing use, including day walks and overnight camping at overnight sites will still be available for National Parks pass holders.

Tasmania’s tourism and hospitality industry is going from strength to strength, but we’ve always said that we need to expand the range of attractions and activities on offer and that’s exactly what the Three Capes track does.

We want to give more Tasmanians and visitors the opportunity to experience our unique, world class wilderness areas and that’s why we have a plan for sensitive and appropriate tourism offerings in our National Parks and the World Heritage Area that are genuinely respectful of the natural and cultural values of those areas.

If fully realised, the 25 proposals we received would see more than $73 million in additional investment, 300 new jobs created and a net return to the state of around $30 million a year. Already, a number of projects have been approved and just last month I announced the first licence agreement with a proponent had been signed.

We have a goal to transform Tasmania into the environmental tourism capital of the world, to create jobs for Tasmanians and help reach a target of 1.5 million visitors a year by 2020. We want to give more Tasmanians and visitors the opportunity to experience our unique, world class wilderness areas.
Matthew Groom, Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage