Tasmania is booming with international tourists. This island state is experiencing the biggest growth in visitor numbers of any state and territory, according to new figures.
The latest figures from the federal body Tourism Research Australia show 307,000 international visitors came to Tasmania in the 12 months to September last year. That was up from 267,000 in the previous 12 months — a 15 per cent increase.
The tourist spending also went up 13 per cent from $484 million in the year to September 2017, to $547 million in the year to September 2018. The federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said Tasmania’s growth had largely been driven by China.
The figures showed outdoor activities were also increasingly popular, with bushwalking and guided excursions both increasing 7 per cent to 1.9 million and 1.4 million respectively. The reputation of Tasmania for high-quality food and wine no doubt also helped its popularity — the survey found dining out was the most popular activity undertaken by international visitors, with 7.8 million of them partaking nationally.
The visits to farm gates were the fastest growing activity — with 413,000 tourists looking for the experience nationally in 2018, up 13 per cent.
Luke Martin from the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania said while all visitors were welcome, the boom was putting pressure on the environment. Luke Martin from the Tourism Industry Council Tasmania also said that they are seeing about $80 million spent on Cradle Mountain.
Margy Osmond from the Tourism and Transport Forum said finding ways to avoid issues like overcrowding and litter would be a major issue for the industry in the coming years.
