From the CEO - Thursday 12 September

The 2024-25 State Budget released today delivers on the election commitments made to the tourism industry by the Tasmanian Government, however the TICT has warned against complacency when it comes to the strength of the state’s visitor economy.

The CEO of the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania, Amy Hills, welcomed the commitment to an additional $12 million over three years to implement the visitor economy strategy.

“Importantly, the first year of this funding must be rolled out urgently to help move along critical parks infrastructure upgrades required to prepare for increased visitation through the new Spirit of Tasmania ferries.

“The other commitments delivered include $5 million for an aviation fund, increased funding for the attraction of business events to Tasmania and $5 million towards an events attraction fund.

“It’s particularly important to see $62.5 million in funding Events Tasmania. We hope this will give our existing events more certainty and Events Tasmania more flexibility in making longer term decisions.

“And while the additional $4 million over two years in marketing funding is welcomed for Tourism Tasmania, the impact of the efficiency dividend and drop in funding in the out years are a concern for our industry, especially given the signal it sends to investors.

“Coming out of a difficult winter, and with other states and territories investing heavily and competing fiercely into nation leading events, we cannot allow Tasmania to be left behind.

“Investment in the visitor economy and demand driving marketing activity will in turn drive economic prosperity for our state.

“The fact is that 1 in 8 Tasmanians are employed in the visitor economy, with 83 cents invested in the broader Tasmanian economy for every dollar spent in the visitor economy.

“In addition, our parks infrastructure will play a critical role in the future, and the commitments to the Parks online booking system, the Nut State Reserve and Mount Field National Park are welcomed.

“The challenge for the Government will be delivering these projects. We’ve seen too many projects stalled and not progressing as quickly as they should be. The Tasmanian Government needs to deliver on the inter-generational infrastructure required to move our economy forward,” Ms Hills said.

From the CEO - Monday 5 August 2024

With August now well and truly underway and our Tasmanian Tourism Conference fast approaching, it's timely for another advocacy update from the TICT.

Following the very concerning news that Rex Airlines was going into voluntary administration last week, the Premier, Jeremy Rockliff, provided a statement which can be found here: Statement on REX Airlines | Premier of Tasmania. Rex's regional service are particularly important right across Australia and Tasmania is no different, with Rex flying into the north west and King Island. We look forward to hearing from the administrators and federal government on a way forward for the airline in the near future. In the meantime, the TICT remains in close contact with the Tasmanian Government and next month, the TICT will be joining a delegation of Tourism Councils from across the country in Canberra with this topic to be high on the agenda.

A big thank you to those who completed our June quarterly survey. It's very clear from those responses that this winter has been challenging, with lack of consumer confidence, weaker economy and the low season all noted as impacting our operators. The rising cost of doing business, especially insurance, is something the TICT is constant contact with Government about and will reiterate to the Premier when we meet again soon. The importance of maintaining investment in demand generation, including our events during the winter and in the regions, is critical and we'll be looking to the release of the State Budget in September to ensure this investment is maintained.

And finally, a big congratulations to Destination Southern Tasmania for hosting the inaugural Tasmanian Tourism Showcase on Friday and Saturday. The TICT was a proud supporter of the initiative and it was great to see a solid consumer presence throughout Saturday. What stood out was the collaboration between operators being shown and the ideas for further partnerships between operators into the future. Something we love to see.

Amy Hills - CEO, Tourism Industry Council Tasmania