The Hodgman Liberal Government is delivering on its plan to develop Tasmanian driving journeys in every region of the State to further grow tourism and create jobs in regional Tasmania.
Our commitment is to invest $1.4 million over 3 years and last week’s State Budget confirms that $800,000 will be immediately available in 2018-19 for infrastructure and signage to kick start this process, as well as $200,000 for marketing.
The Tasmanian Journeys in the North, North-West and Southern Tasmania will complement the success of the Great Eastern Drive and work that is currently underway on the Western Journey Project.
The North-West Journey will build on the Cradle To Coast Tasting Trail taking travellers on an adventure packed trip with premium produce and iconic tourism experiences.
The Northern Journey will take in Greater Launceston and could include its most visited attractions like the Cataract Gorge, Woolmers and Brickendon estates and the Tamar Valley wine region.
In Southern Tasmania there are opportunities to draw visitors south of Hobart towards Bruny Island, the Tahune Forest Airwalk and the Hastings Caves and Thermal Springs.
Our funding will identify products and experiences which are specific to each region, develop themes and individual stories and also look at roads, access, signage and interpretation in the development of names and brands.
Our investment will also provide ongoing funding for Tourism Tasmania to take advantage of its marketing expertise and global reach to promote these Tasmanian journeys as unique experiences.
This investment also complements our plans to upgrade regional tourism roads and the purchase of two new Spirits of Tasmania which will come online in 2021.
These new ships will boost passenger capacity by 43 per cent and we know that visitors touring the State with their cars stay up to 9 night longer than air travellers and look for unique experiences that can often only be provided by regional destinations.
Our 2022 goal is for 70 per cent all visitors to Tasmania to stay overnight in a regional area during their trip.
The Hodgman Liberal Government is the strongest supporter of sustainable tourism growth and we know that attracting visitors to regional areas means that tourists stay longer in the State and the economic boost is spread more evenly.