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