The Liberal Government is committed to building on our competitive strengths, particularly regional tourism.
Our target is to attract 1.5 million visitors to the state every year by 2020, which the industry tells us will create 8,000 new jobs.
Regional tourism organisations like the Port Arthur and Tasman Tourism Association, who I met with tonight to discuss the future of tourism in the region, are important partners who will help us reach this target.
Our Government shares in the association's commitment to grow tourism in the Tasman region.
The latest Tasmanian Tourism Snapshot figures show tourism in the region is booming, with a 13 per cent increase in the number of visitors to the southern corner of our state.
In fact, of the record 1.06 million visitors to our state in the 12 months to March, more than 216,000 visited the Port Arthur Historic Site.
These are encouraging figures, but I'm confident we can do better and that's why we are investing $3 million to help stabilise the Penitentiary Precinct, $4 million for the Three Capes Track and we are seeking a commercial boat operator to boost access to the track.
We are backing our competitive strengths in regional Tasmania including tourism, agriculture, aquaculture and forestry; assets that are abundant in the south.