APPLE OF THEIR ISLE

International love for Tassie hits high as 279,000 arrive

TASMANIA is leading the nation in attracting more international visitors — with an 18 per cent increase in the number of overseas arrivals to the island last year.

And the 279,000 international visitors who came here in 2017 spent a record $497 million during their trip, up an astonishing 32 per cent in a year.

The number of international visitors to Tasmania has now doubled during the past five years.

Tourism Industry Council Tasmania chief Luke Martin said: “It shows the strength of Tasmania’s brand at the moment.”

Belgian tourists Ben Bodart and Amandine Depas, pictured, said they wished they had planned another week in the state.

TASMANIANGROWN hops can be found flavouring the beer in almost every country in Europe, says a Bushy Park hop grower.

Hop harvest is in full swing in the Derwent Valley, with brewers from around the country and across the world making their pilgrimages to inspect the crop. About 40 Australian brewers secure their hops from Bushy Park.

The harvest of Hop Products Australia’s Tasmanian crops grabs brewers’ attention, with the company hoping to have the season wrapped up in the first week of next month.

HPA sales and marketing manager Owen Johnston said 60 per cent of the estate’s crop is exported to more than 26 countries. The balance is for domestic demand.

“Today we have brewers from Poland visiting to look at our hops and a tomorrow a brewer from Germany,” Mr Johnston said.

“Our main export destination is the USA, and the hops go from the biggest brewers to brew pubs.”

Hops are a key ingredient in beer, providing flavour and stability in the brew.

Mr Johnston said HPA varieties, especially the Tasmanian-grown Galaxy hops, were popular with brewers because of the unique flavours and aroma they give beer.

Mr Johnston said the estate is on a sustainable trend.

“Overall beer consumption maybe tapering a little, but increasingly some styles of beer demand higher hop content,” he said.

Bushy Park Estates manager and production agronomist Oliver Ward said it’s been a challenging season because of the dry weather.

This year Mr Ward estimates the grower will harvest between 550 and 600 tonnes from 225ha.

“The hop yield is up from last year because modern varieties like Galaxy not only give unique flavour but higher yield,” Mr Ward said.

Mr Ward said the crop was monitored in an on-site laboratory to determine optimum harvest dates.

Kiln drier supervisor Phillip Smith, who has been working at the estate for 39 years, said the crop had come up well considering the difficult growing season.