New figures released today show that the Tasmanian Liberal Government’s Plan to grow our tourism sector is working.
Tasmania has proven itself yet again as a must-see destination with another record-breaking year in 2016 that saw visitor numbers passing the 1.2 million mark for the first time ever.
The latest Tasmanian Visitor Survey confirms Tasmania’s place as a tourism mecca with the number of total visitors growing by seven per cent last year, and visitor spending increasing by 10 per cent to $2.14 billion.
This puts us ahead of the five percent growth required year on year to year reach our target of 1.5 million visitors by 2020.
Our regions are sharing in the benefits of the tourism boom with northern Tasmania the standout performer recording an 11 per cent increase in visitor numbers, the East 10 percent, and Cradle Coast seven percent.
For the year, sea visitors are up 11 percent – driven by our massively successful TT Line upgrade; and air visitors are up seven percent.
Our international appeal is even stronger – with international visitors up by 11 per cent. The USA remains our biggest market and is up 13% with major increases also experienced in Asian markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia.
However, we know that to stay ahead of the pack we need to be constantly evolving and growing our tourism offering, which is why we are supporting important initiatives like the exciting Cradle Mountain Master Plan, and the Mount Wellington Cable Car.