Tourists beat path to Tassie’s wild places

MAINLANDERS are heading to Tasmania in droves, holidaying and doing business in all corners of the state in record numbers, the latest National Visitor Survey shows.

And Tasmanians are stepping out of their patch to see the sights, according to new numbers which federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said demonstrated a trend towards nature-based tourism.

“Australians are continuing to head off the beaten track, preferring to turn to nature and the great outdoors for their holidays,” Senator Birmingham said.

“Trips involving naturebased activities and visits to national parks continued to grow at a faster rate than visits to the beach.

“Eco-tourism is on the rise in Australia, and it’s not surprising given our world-class national parks, unique wildlife and diversity of nature-based experiences on offer.”

The National Visitor Survey showed every region of the state saw an increase in domestic tourism expenditure in the year to December, with Tasmania leading the charge nationally on annual visitor increases.

However, overnight trips were down for the North-West and West Coast.

Hobart and the South recorded 1.6 million overnight trips and $1.4 billion in expenditure in the year to December last year. The figures were up 18 and 20 per cent respectively.

The West Coast enjoyed the biggest growth in visitor expenditure, up 54 per cent to $95 million. Overnight trips were down 7 per cent to 156,000.

The state saw 3.1 million domestic visitors and a $2.7 billion spend in the 12 months to December — increases of 13 and 16 per cent. Queensland followed with increases of 11 and 16 per cent on visitation and spend respectively.

Intrastate visitors accounted for 1.7 million of those touring Tasmania while about 1.3 million mainlanders headed south.

Premier and Tourism Minister Will Hodgman cheered Tasmania’s results.

“The rest of the country has well and truly caught on to the fact that Tasmania is the place to be,” Mr Hodgman said.

“We have captured the attention of the nation, who continue to come in large numbers to enjoy our unrivalled natural environment, premium experiences, world-class produce and unbeatable way of life.”