The Hodgman Liberal Government is backing our tourism and hospitality industries to grow and create jobs, and we are seeing the results throughout the State.
There is still a lot more to do, but the occupancy statistics for February are very encouraging. When you compare February 2014 to February 2015, occupancy rates are up over 8 per cent state-wide and up 6.4 per cent in the south, 4.1 per cent in the north and a staggering 18.6 per cent in the north west.
If these occupancy rates are any indication, 2015 is shaping up to be even better than last year.
This comes on the back of record visitor numbers to Tasmania in 2014, when for the first time tourists to our State spent over $1 billion during the year, which was a massive 19 per cent increase on 2013.
Strong visitor numbers and occupancy rates are driving a construction surge right around the State and more construction equals more jobs and growth, which benefits the entire economy.
The Government is working hard to bring more visitors to Tasmania. The recent visit of the Chinese President and the Premier’s current trade mission to China is driving visitor growth from one of our key overseas markets.
In addition to that, we're investing an extra $16 million into marketing, we're opening up our national parks and World Heritage Area to new, exciting and sensible developments to attract even more visitors and we're encouraging investment and development in the tourism and hospitality industries by cutting red and green tape, fixing the planning system and supporting the growth in confidence that has emerged since the last election.