It continues to be a busy time in the world of tourism and there have been number of important announcements over the past week I wanted to update you on in case you may have missed them.

In October, we will see the return of direct flights between Auckland and Hobart. This is a great confidence booster for our industry heading into summer and will bring visitors keen to explore our state and our regions.

Last Saturday also saw the long-awaited release of the Expression of Interest process for proponents keen to revitalise the former 'dismal swamp' site. We feel this is a vital investment in ensuring visitors coming off the Spirits turn right to explore the far north west.

And hot off the announcement of our Top Tourism Town success, a big congratulations to the Tasman Luxury Hotel which was one of only two Australian hotels to make it into the World's Top 50 list.

We hope that you have a productive school holiday period and look forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming Tasmanian Tourism Awards finalist events and Nature Tourism Days in October.

Amy Hills - Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Industry Council Tasmania