Tasmania is right at the precipice of breaking the one million domestic visitor mark for the first time ever, according to the latest Tasmanian Visitor Survey.
The lure of our people, places and sights drew a record 988,000 Australian travellers across Bass Strait in yet another major milestone for Tasmania’s tourism industry, which has seen record after record topple in the year to June.
We have smashed international visitor figures with a 22 per cent increase, which is the greatest per cent increase of any state and territory.
We’ve topped traveller expenditure with visitors spending almost $1.9 billion, that’s an increase of more than a $150 million. This is new money in tills at urban hotels, rural pubs and regional attractions.
And, we’ve bucked the national trend by attracting 13 per cent more holiday-makers to our shores, while the country’s average growth was two per cent.
The greatest growth markets were across the Eastern Seaboard, with New South Wales visitors jumping by 13 per cent and Victorian travellers up by 10 per cent.
Importantly, every Tasmanian region shared in the success. The South was up by 12 per cent, the East Coast by 12 per cent, Cradle Coast by 10 per cent and the North by six per cent.
These figures show that we are on track to reach our target of attracting 1.5 million visitors to our state every year by 2020. But we will not be complacent. We will continue to invest in our award winning and record breaking tourism and hospitality industries to ensure we put Tasmania at the top of even more travellers’ must-see list.
Tasmanian Visitor Survey: http://www.tourismtasmania.com.au/research/visitors
Will Hodgman, Premier Minister for Tourism, Hospitality and Events
