The state government released an ‘action plan’ for the tourism sector on Wednesday, in conjunction with the Tourism Industry Council of Tasmania.
Premier and Minister for Tourism Peter Gutwein said the plain will shape the pathway to recovery and “restore the value of tourism to our economy and for the benefit of our community.”
“The Action Plan includes 39 priorities in the first six months and will be reviewed regularly to ensure it continues to be responsive to our changing environment,” he said.
The Plan includes a pathway to recovery that focuses on immediate priorities of rebuilding visitation around core destination strengths, re-establishing air and sea access and supporting business owners and the industry workforce.
“The Plan also prioritises actions we need to take now to build our future as a sustainable visitor destination over the next decade,” said the Premier. These are based on industry consultation undertaken in late 2019 around the vision for tourism in Tasmania over the coming decade.
“Today’s Action Plan is just another step in our response to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. If we continue to work together we will come out the other side even stronger and we will rebuild our visitor economy to once again be nation leading,” said Premier Gutwein.
“Importantly, we are also looking beyond our immediate priorities to secure businesses, support our workforce and restore visitor demand when we can – and committing to a shared vision for Tasmania to emerge over the next decade as a true global leader in responsible and sustainable tourism,” said the TICT in a statement.
Labor Leader Rebecca White welcomed the release of the T21 Visitor Economy Action Plan 2020-2022. She said a future focus is essential for the tourism industry in the face of ongoing constraints due to COVID-19.
“Tourism operators and workers have faced significant upheaval over the past six months and continue to ride a roller coaster of uncertainty that will potentially continue for months to come,” White said. “It’s vital that the industry is able to plan for a post-COVID future with some confidence. The Action Plan has been developed with significant input from the sector and will help to guide decision making over the next two years.”
White said it was important that the government continues to work closely with the sector to implement the plan and support the industry through the current uncertainty.
“Tourism is a vital part of Tasmania’s economy, contributing 11% of Gross State Product and generating 17% of direct and indirect jobs in the state.”
Some tourism operators were less enthusiastic about the Plan. Shannon Wells, Managing Director of Airlines of Tasmania (Par Avion) was one of those.
“(I) was hoping for an approach like the NT has to directly stimulate the market, this just reads like fluff on a PowerPoint presentation for a boardroom of yes men … the borders are shut and I don’t see them opening soon… I’m worried about 3 months not 3 years,” said Wells in a comment on Twitter.
“Show me the logging trucks, cable clear felling, burn offs & poisoning of Tassie devils & other wildlife with 1080,” said Stuart Hickson. “That’s what the tourists want, decimation of the environment.”
