CRADLE TO ROCK VISITORS IN YEAR AHEAD

THE rugged wilderness of an iconic Tasmanian destination is trending online.

Booking. com released the top trends expected to shape travel in the year ahead, with Tasmania’s top regional destinations announced.

West by South West Tourism CEO Tom Wootton said though it wasn’t a surprise for Cradle Mountain to top the list, seeing places such as Ulverstone and Stanley make the top 10 was a nice surprise.

“Both are highly charismatic towns, and both have really vibrant local tourism associations as well,” he said.

“Having product in the area to punctuate the stay, to create some experience in the area, is really critical.

“We as North- West coasters know how fantastic these places are — it’s great that the rest of the state is starting to realise it too.”

Mr Wootton said tourism operators in the region were looking forward to the New Year and hoping for a sense of normality with borders reopened.

“The regions have done well, relatively speaking,” he said.

“There seems to be a good deal of interest in the North- West with Tasmanians.

“What that means is with so many Tasmanians visiting our region, hopefully, we’ll now benefit from word of mouth.”

The East Coast took out five spots on the list – Coles Bay, Bicheno, Swansea, St Helens and Binalong Bay.

Port Arthur also made the list, coming in at number eight.

Booking. com Australia area manager Luke Wilson said with international travel remaining uncertain, the ability to explore our own back yard continues to “bring moments of joy and inspiration”.

“As restrictions continue to ease in Tasmania, we can see holiday planners are getting ready to rediscover travel in their own state back yard,” he said.