Today my update falls on that unusual day in Tassie where a large part of our community take the day off, while many of us are back at work. But I felt it was important to provide an update as we come off the back of Easter and head into the next few weeks before Tasmanian school holidays.

In the lead-up to Easter and against the backdrop of the unfolding and ever changing global and national landscape, the TICT's primary focus was ensuring that as much confidence was kept in our industry and encouraging travellers to keep their plans. We were able to highlight that every cup of coffee and trip to the regions helps, if it can be afforded, and there are also ways to get around our wonderful state that won't break the bank as well.

We look to continue this as we move toward the Tasmanian school holiday period and are excited to be sharing with you our finalists in the Tassie’s Top Tourism Town Awards program later this week. Please ensure you support your region’s entry/ies across the public voting period to further engage the Tasmanian community and encourage them to explore our amazing visitor experiences where they are able.

We also welcomed the Federal Government's announcement to reduce the fuel excise which is something the TICT had joined other peak industry bodies in advocating for and it was our pleasure to join Tourism Tasmania last Thursday to launch its sixth annual Off-Season campaign. The work that Tourism Tasmania does in market is more important than ever before, and the TICT wants to thank TTas for the incredible work they are doing to support our industry and in their collaboration with us in sharing industry insights.

So now the focus turns to ensuring April holds firm and looking into May and beyond - where there's a real concern among our industry about forward bookings due to factors outside of our control.

Our actions will focus on:

• Calling for as much transparency and communications around national and state fuel supplies as possible, helping booking confidence
• Bringing our operators helpful reminders and education about ways to help you do business during these volatile times - keep an eye on our EDM, website and socials for details
• Working with Government to assess ways in which we can make it easier for our businesses to do business during times of increased costs
• Calling on the Government to halt its Short Stay Visitor levy - an easy and quick measure that would take unnecessary pressure off our small operators.
• Highlighting the incredible experiences on offer in our regions through our Top Tourism Town Awards, encouraging support of local businesses and local jobs, and keeping our regional communities vibrant for everyone.

Thank you again for everything you are doing to support our economy. As I've said many times, it's in times like these that we come together like nowhere else in the country - and the next few months will be no different.

Amy Hills, CEO, and the TICT Team