The Tasmania Government is reviewing future tourism opportunities at Dismal Swamp, at Togari in the State’s far North West.
Dismal Swamp was opened by Forestry Tasmania in 2004 and leased in 2010, before being transferred to the Parks and Wildlife Service in 2013.
The site, formerly operated as Tarkine Forest Adventures, has been closed for about 12 months and management reverted to the Crown recently.
Minister for Environment and Parks Roger Jaensch said the site’s future needs to be reviewed in the context of post-COVID-19 recovery and other tourism investment in the region including mountain bike trails and the rollout of the new Northern Drive Journey
“This is an opportunity to reconsider the value of this site and how it can best be utilised to add to the North West’s tourism assets to attract visitors and support our regional economy, which will be more important than ever in our future recovery from COVID-19.
“We need to consider options to re-invest in the site as is or completely rethink the offering and how it complements the current attractions available in the region both now and into the future,” Minister Jaensch said.
Key stakeholders from the tourism industry, industry bodies, local government and the Tasmanian Government met on site today to plan a process to determine the next steps.
The future use of Dismal Swamp was identified as an opportunity for the far North West region in the Tasmania Government’s Reimagining the Far North West report.
The tourism sector has welcomed the opportunity to collaborate on future uses.
West by North West CEO Tom Wootton said Dismal Swamp has the potential to draw visitors to the far north west to enjoy and explore the remote area of Tasmania.
“As our tourism industry recovers from impacts of COVID-19, this sort of development keeps us focused on the future and how we can bounce back stronger,” Mr Wootton said.
Dismal Swamp will remain closed to the public until a future plan for the site has been decided.